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Har per's Stereotype Edition. 
A 

DESCRIPTION 



PITCAIRN'S ISLAND 



INHABITANTS. 



WITH 

AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT 



MUTINY OF THE SHIP BOUNTY, 

AND OF THE 
SUBSEQUENT FORTUNES OP THE MUTINEERS. 



NEW YORK : 
HARPER & BROTHERS, 

NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. 

18 38. 



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•% 2 



WW f fOffl 

Miss Aliee H. Bushse 
Jan. 6,1932 



»MR2 7944 






PREFACE. 



The Editor of this little volume (for he pre- 
sumes not to write Author) has been induced to 
bring into one connected view what has hitherto 
appeared only in detached fragments (and some of 
these not generally accessible) — the historical 
narrative of an event which deeply interested the 
public at the time of its occurrence, and from 
which the naval service in particular, in all its 
ranks, may still draw instructive and useful les- 
sons. 

The story in itself is replete with interest. We 
are taught by The Book of sacred history, that the 
disobedience of our first parents entailed on our 
globe of earth a sinful and a suffering race : in our 
time there has sprung up from the most abandoned 
of this sinful family — from pirates, mutineers, and 
murderers — a little society which, under the pre- 
cepts of that sacred volume, is characterized by 
religion, morality, and innocence. The discovery 
.of this happy people, as unexpected as it was ac- 
cidental, and all that regards their condition and 
history, partake so much of the romantic, as to 
render the story not ill adapted for an epic poem. 
Lord Byron, indeed, has partially treated the sub- 
ject ; but by blending two incongruous stories, and 
leaving both of them imperfect, and by mixing up 
fact with fiction, has been less felicitous than usual ; 



X PREFACE. 

for, beautiful as many passages in his * Island' are, 
in a region where every tree, and flower, and foun- 
tain breathe poetry, yet as a whole the poem is 
feeble and deficient in dramatic effect. 

There still remains to us at least one Poet, who, 
if he could be prevailed on to undertake it, would 
do justice to the story. To his suggestion the 
publication of the present narrative owes its appear- 
ance. But a higher object at present is engaging 
his attention, which, when completed, judging from 
that portion already before the public, will have 
raised a splendid and lasting monument to the 
name of William Sotheby, in his translation of the 
Iliad and the Odyssey. 

To the kindness of Mrs. Hey wood, the relict of 
the late Captain Peter Heywood, the Editor is in- 
debted for those beautiful and affectionate letters, 
written by a beloved sister to her unfortunate bro- 
ther, while a prisoner and under sentence of death ; 
as well as for some occasional poetry, which dis- 
plays an intensity of feeling, a tenderness of ex- 
pression, and a high tone of sentiment, that do 
honour to the head and heart of this amiable and 
accomplished lady. Those letters also from the 
brother to his deeply afflicted family will be read 
with peculiar interest. 



The publishers of the present edition of this 
work, in order to render it more acceptable to the 
American public, have taken the liberty of omit- 
ting a few of the author's observations which were 
not deemed necessary to the history, and also of 
slightly modifying its title. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

OTAHETTE. 

Brief description of Otaheite, as it was at the Time of its first Discov 
ery by Captain Wallis, and when subsequently visited by Captain 
Cook .-.■ Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

Expedition of the Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant Bligh, to convey 
the Bread-Fruit Tree from Otaheite to the West India Islands- .. . 45 

CHAPTER III. 

THE MUTINY. 

Lieutenant Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of the 
Bounty by Mr. Fletcher Christian and Part of the Crew, With Obser- 
vations thereon 63 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

Narrative of the unparalleled Voyage of Four Thousand Miles, per- 
formed by Lieutenant Bligh and seventeen others in an open Boat 92 

CHAPTER V. 

THE PANDORA. 

Narrative of the Expedition of the Ship Pandora in Search of the Muti- 
neers — Of the Treatment of those taken on board that Ship; and of 
her Destruction by crossing the Barrier Reef off the Coast of New 
South Wales ..*. .-.- 3&f 



XU CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

Abstract of the Proceedings of the Court-Martial held oh the Mutineers, 
and the Sentence passed on them .....page 181 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE KING'S WARRANT. 

The King's Warrant for the Pardon of those recommended by the Court 
to his Majesty's Mercy, and for the Execution of those condemned 214 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. 

The Last of the Mutineers discovered with their Offspring on Pitcairn's' 
Island — The History and Fate of those who carried off the Bounty, 
and the present State and Condition of their innocent Offspring. . 244 



PLATES. 

View of a Creek in Matavai Bay, Otaheite Page 44 

Residence of John Adams on Pitcairn's Island 27$ 



THE 

EVENTFUL HISTORY 

OF THE 

MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 



CHAPTER I. 



OTAHEITE. 

t4 The gentle Island, and the genial soil, 
The friendly hearts, the feasts without a toil, 
The courteous manners, but from nature caught, 
The wealth unhoarded, and the love unbought, 

****** 
The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields 
The unreap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields, 
And bakes its unadulterated loaves 
Without a furnace in unpurchas'd groves, 
And flings off famine from its fertile breast, 
A priceless market for the gathering guest ;— 
These," &c. Byron. 

The reign of George III. will be distinguished in 
history by the great extension and improvement 
which geographical knowledge received under the 
immediate auspices of this sovereign. At a very 
early period after his accession to the throne of 
these realms* expeditions of discovery were under- 
taken, " not," as Dr. Hawkesworth observes, "with a 
view to the acquisition of treasure* or the extent of 
dominion, but for the improvement of commerce, 
and the increase and difFusion of knowledge." This 
excellent monarch was himself no mean proficient 
in the science of geography ; and it may be doubted 
if any one of his subjects, at the period alluded to* 
B 



14 OTAHEITE. 

was in possession of so extensive or so well-arranged 
a cabinet of maps and charts as his was, or who 
understood their merits or their defects so well as 
he did. 

The first expeditions that were sent forth, after 
the conclusion of the war, were those of Byron, 
Wallis, and Carteret. In the instructions to the 
first of these commanders it is said, " there is reason 
to believe that lands and islands of great extent, 
hitherto unvisited by any European power, may be 
found in the Atlantic Ocean, between the Cape of 
Good Hope and the Magellanic Strait, within the 
latitudes convenient for navigation, and in climates 
adapted to the produce of commodities useful in 
commerce." It could not require much knowledge 
or consideration to be assured that between the 
Cape and the Strait climates producing commodities 
useful in commerce, with the exception of whales 
and seals, were likely to be found. The fact was, 
that among the real objects of this and other subse- 
quent voyages, there was one which had engaged 
the attention of certain philosophers, from the time 
of the Spanish navigator Quiros : this able navigator 
had maintained that a Terra Australis incognita must 
necessarily exist, somewhere in the high latitudes 
of the southern hemisphere, to counterbalance the 
great masses of land in those of the northern one, 
and thus maintain a just equipoise of the globe. 

While these expeditions were in progress, the 
Royal Society, in 1768, addressed an application to 
the king, praying him to appoint a ship of war to 
convey to the South Seas Mr. Alexander Dalrymple 
(who had adopted the opinion of Quiros), and cer- 
tain others, for the main purpose, however, of ob- 
serving the transit of Venus over the sun's disk, 
which was to happen in the year 1769. By the 
king's command, a bark of three hundred and seventy 
tons was taken up by the Admiralty to perform this 
service, but as Mr. Dalrymple was a civilian, he 



OTAHEITE. 15 

could not be intrusted with the command of the 
ship, and on that account declined going in her. 

The command was therefore conferred on Lieu- 
tenant James Cook, an officer of undoubted ability, 
and well versed in astronomy and the theory and 
practice of navigation, with whom the Royal Society 
associated Mr. Charles Green, who had long been 
assistant to Dr. Bradley, the astronomer royal, to 
aid him in the observation of the transit. Mr. Banks, 
a private gentleman of good fortune, who afterward 
became the valuable and distinguished President of 
the Royal Society, and Dr. Solander, a Swedish 
gentleman of great acquirements, particularly in 
natural history, accompanied Lieutenant Cook on 
this interesting voyage. The islands of Marquesas 
de Mendoza, or those of Rotterdam or Amsterdam, 
were proposed by the RoyaJ Society as proper 
places for making the observation. While fitting 
out, however, Captain Wallis returned from his ex- 
pedition, and strongly recommended, as most suit- 
able for the purpose, Port Royal Harbour, on an 
island he had discovered, to which he had given the 
name of "King George's Island," and which has since 
been known by its native name, Otaheite or Tahite.* 

This lovely island is most intimately connected 
with the mutiny which took place on board the 
Bounty, and with the fate of the mutineers and their 
innocent offspring. Its many seducing temptations 
have been urged as one, if not the main, cause of the 
mutiny, which was supposed, at least by the com- 
mander of that ship, to have been excited by 

" Young hearts which languished for some sunny isle, 
Where summer years, and summer women smile, 

* The discovery of this island is owing to Fernandez de Quiros in 
1506, which he named La Sagittaria. Some doubts were at first enter- 
tained of its identity with Otaheite, but the small difference of a few 
miles in latitude, and about two degrees of longitude, the description as 
to size, the low isthmus, the distance from it of any other island at all 
similar, and above all, the geographical position — all prove its identity^ 
although Quiros calls it, what it certainly is. not, a low island. 



16 OTAHEITE. 

Men without country, who, too long estranged, 
Had found no native home, or found it changed, 
And, half uncivilized, preferred the cave 
Of some soft savage to the uncertain wave." 

It may be proper, therefore, as introductory to 
the present narrative, to give a general description 
of the rich and spontaneous gifts which Nature has 
lavished on this once " happy island ;" — of the simple 
and ingenuous manners of its natives, — and of those 
allurements which were supposed, erroneously how- 
ever, to have occasioned the unfortunate catastrophe 
alluded to ;— to glance at 

" The nymphs' seducements and the magic bower," 

as they existed at the period of the first intercourse 
between the Otaheitans and the crews of those 
ships which carried to their shores, in succession, 
Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook. 

The first communication which Wallis had with 
these people was unfortunately of a hostile nature. 
Having approached with his ship close to the shore, 
the usual symbol of peace and friendship, a branch 
of the plantain-tree, was held up by a native in one 
of the numerous canoes that surrounded the ship. 
Great numbers, on being invited, crowded on board 
the stranger ship, but one of them, being butted on 
the haunches by a goat, and turning hastily round, 
perceived it rearing on its hind legs, ready to repeat 
the blow, was so terrified at the appearance of this 
strange animal, so different from any he had ever 
seen, that, in the moment of terror, he jumped over- 
board, and all the rest followed his example with 
the utmost precipitation. 

This little incident, however, produced no mis-, 
chief; but as the boats were sounding in the bay, 
and several canoes crowding round them, Wallis 
suspected the islanders had a design to attack them, 
and, on this mere suspicion, ordered the boats by 
signal to come on board, " and at the same time," he 



OTAHEITE. 17 

says, "to intimidate the Indians, I fired a nine- 
pounder over their heads." This, as might have 
been imagined, startled the islanders, but did not 
prevent them from attempting immediately to cut 
off the cutter, as she was standing towards the ship. 
Several stones were thrown into this boat, on which 
the commanding officer fired a musket, loaded with 
buckshot, at the man who threw the first stone, 
and wounded him in the shoulder. 

Finding no good anchorage at this place, the ship 
proceeded to another part of the island, where, on 
one of the boats being assailed by the Indians in two 
or three canoes, with their clubs and paddles in their 
hands, " Our people," says the commander, " being 
much pressed, were obliged to fire, by which one of 
the assailants was killed, and another much wounded." 
This unlucky rencounter did not, however, prevent, 
as soon as the ship was moored, a great number of 
canoes from coming off the next morning, with hogs, 
fowls, and fruit. A brisk traffic soon commenced, 
our people exchanging knives, nails, and trinkets 
for more substantial articles of food, of which they 
were in want. Among the canoes that came out 
last were some double ones of very large size, with 
twelve or fifteen stout men in each, and it was ob- 
served that they had little on board except a quan- 
tity of round pebble stones. Other canoes came off 
along with them, having only women on board ; 
and while these females were assiduously practising 
their allurements, by attitudes that could not be mis- 
understood, with the view, as it would seem, to dis- 
tract the attention of the crew, the large double 
canoes closed round the ship ; and as these advanced, 
some of the men began singing, some blowing 
conchs, and others playing on flutes. One of them, 
with a person sitting under a canopy, approached 
che ship so close, as to allow this person to hand up 
a bunch of red and yellow feathers, making signs it 
was for the captain. He then put off to a little dis» 
B2 



18 OTAHEITE. 

tance, and, on holding up the branch of a eocoanut- 
tree, there was a universal shout from all the 
canoes, which at the same moment moved towards 
the ship, and a shower of stones was poured into 
her on every side. The guard was now ordered to 
fire, and two of the quarter-deck guns, loaded with 
small shot, were fired among them at the same time, 
which created great terror and confusion, and caused 
them to retreat to a short distance. In a few min- 
utes, however, they renewed the attack. The great 
guns were now ordered to be discharged among 
them, and also into a mass of canoes that were put- 
ting off from the shore. It is stated, that at this 
time there could not be less than three hundred 
canoes about the ship, having on board at least two 
thousand men. Again they dispersed, but having 
soon collected into something like order, they hoisted 
white streamers, and pulled towards the ship's stern, 
when they again began to throw stones with great 
force and dexterity, by the help of slings, each of 
the stones weighing about two pounds, and many 
of them wounded the people on board. At length 
a shot hit the canoe that apparently had the chief 
on board, and cut it asunder. This was no sooner 
observed by the rest than they all dispersed, in such 
haste that in half an hour there was not a single 
canoe to be seen; and all the people who had 
crowded the shore fled over the hills with the ut- 
most precipitation. What was to happen on the 
following day was matter of conjecture, but this 
point was soon decided. 

" The white man landed ;— need the rest he told! 
The new world stretch'd its dusk hand to the old." 

Lieutenant Furneaux, on the next morning, landed 
without opposition close to a fine river that fell into 
the bay,— stuck up a staff on which was hoisted a 
pendant,— turned a turf —and by this process took 
possession of the island in the name of his majesty, 



OTAHEITE. 19 

and called it King George the Third's Island. Just 
as he was embarking - , an old man, to whom the lieu- 
tenant had given a few trifles, brought some green 
boughs, which he threw down at the foot of the 
stair, then retiring, brought about a dozen of his 
countrymen, who approached the staff in a suppli- 
cating posture, then retired and brought two live 
hogs, which they laid down at the foot of the staff, 
and then began to dance. After this ceremony the 
hogs were put into a canoe, and the old man carried 
them on board, handing up several green plantain 
leaves, and uttering a sentence on the delivery of 
each. Some presents were offered him in return, 
but he would accept of none. 

Concluding that peace was now established, and 
that no further attack would be made, the boats 
were sent on shore the following day to get water. 
While the casks were filling, several natives were 
perceived coming from behind the hills and through 
the woods, and at the same time a multitude of 
canoes from behind a projecting point of the bay. 
As these were discovered to be laden with stones, 
and were making towards the ship, it was concluded 
their intention was to try their fortune in a second 
grand attack. "As to shorten the contest would 
certainly lessen the mischief, I determined," says 
Captain Wallis, " to make this action decisive, and 
put an end to hostilities at once." Accordingly a 
tremendous fire was opened at once on all the 
groups of canoes, which had the effect of imme- 
diately dispersing them. The fire was then directed 
into the wood, to drive out the islanders, who had 
assembled in large numbers, on which they all fled 
to the hill, where the women and children had seated 
themselves. Here they collected to the amount of 
several thousands, imagining themselves at that dis- 
tance to be perfectly safe. The captain, however, 
ordered four shot to be fired over them ; but two of 
the balls having fallen close to a tree where a number 



20 OTAHEITE. 

of them were sitting, they were so struck with terror 
and consternation, that in less than two minutes 
not a creature was to be seen. The coast being 
cleared, the boats were manned and armed, and all 
the carpenters with their axes were sent on shore, 
with directions to destroy every canoe they could 
find ; and we are told this service was effectually 
performed, and that more than fifty canoes, many of 
which were sixty feet long and three broad, and 
lashed together, were cut to pieces. 

This act of severity must have been cruelly felt 
by these poor people, who, without iron or any kind 
of tools, but such as stones, shells, teeth, and bones 
supplied them with, must have spent months and 
probably years in the construction of one of these 
extraordinary double boats. 

Such was the inauspicious commencement of our 
acquaintance with the natives of Otaheite. Their 
determined hostility and perseverance in an unequal 
combat could only have arisen from one of two 
motives — either from an opinion that a ship of such 
magnitude as they had never before beheld could 
only be come to their coast to take their country 
from them ; or an irresistible temptation to endea- 
vour, at all hazards, to possess themselves of so 
valuable a prize. Be that as it may, the dread in- 
spired by the effects of the cannon, and perhaps a 
conviction of the truth of what had been explained 
to them, that the " strangers wanted only provisions 
and water," had the effect of allaying all jealousy; 
for from the day of the last action, the most friendly 
and uninterrupted intercourse was established, and 
continued to the day of the Dolphin's departure; 
and provisions of all kinds, hogs, dogs, fruit, and 
vegetables, weie supplied in the greatest abundance, 
in exchange for pieces of iron, nails, and trinkets. 

As a proof of the readiness of these simple 
people to forgive injuries, a poor woman, accompa- 
nied by a young man bearing a branch of the plan* 



OTAHEITE. 2.1 

tain-tree, and another man with two hogs, ap- 
proached the gunner, whom Captain Wallis had 
appointed to regulate the market, and looking round 
on the strangers with great attention, fixing her eyes 
sometimes on one and sometimes on another, at 
length burst into tears. It appeared that her hus- 
band and three of her sons had been killed in the 
attack on the ship. While this was under explana- 
tion, the poor creature was so affected as to require 
the support of the two young men, who from their 
weeping were probably two more of her sons. 
When somewhat composed, she ordered the two 
hogs to be delivered to the gunner, and gave him her 
hand in token of friendship, but would accept nothing 
in return. 

Captain Wallis was now so well satisfied that 
there was nothing further to apprehend from the 
hostility of the natives, that he sent a party up the 
country to cut wood, who were treated with great 
kindness and hospitality by all they met, and the 
ship was visited by persons of both sexes, who by 
their dress and behaviour appeared to be of a supe- 
rior rank. Among others was a tall lady about five- 
and-forty years of age, of a pleasing countenance 
and majestic deportment. She was under no re- 
straint, either from diffidence or fear, and conducted 
herself with that easy freedom which generally dis- 
tinguishes conscious superiority and habitual com- 
mand. She accepted some small present which the 
captain gave her. with a good grace and much plea- 
sure ; and having observed that he was weak and 
suffering from ill health, she pointed to the shore, 
.which he understood to be an invitation, and made 
signs that he would go thither the next morning. 
1 His visit to this lady displays so much character and 
good feeling, that it will best be described in the 
[captain's own words. 

" The next morning I went on shore for the first 
"time, and my princess, or rather queen, for such by 



22 OTAHEITE. 

her authority she appeared to be, soon after came 
to me, followed by many of her attendants. As she 
perceived that my disorder had left me very weak, 
she ordered her people to take me in their arms, and 
carry me, not only over the river, but all the way to 
her house ; and observing that some of the people 
who were with me, particularly the first lieutenant 
and purser, had also been sick, she caused them also 
to be carried in the same manner, and a guard, 
which I had ordered out upon the occasion, fol- 
lowed. In our way, avast multitude crowded about 
us, but upon her waving her hand, without speaking 
a word, they withdrew, and left us a free passage. 
When we approached near her house, a great num- 
ber of both sexes came out to meet her ; these she 
presented to me, after having intimated by signs 
that they were her relations, and taking hold of my 
hand she made them kiss it. 

" We then entered the house, which covered a 
piece of ground three hundred and twenty-seven 
feet long, and forty-two feet broad. It consisted of 
a roof thatched with palm leaves, and raised upon 
thirty-nine pillars on each side, and fourteen in the 
middle. The ridge of the thatch, on the inside, was 
thirty feet high, and the sides of the house, to the 
edge of the roof, were twelve feet high ; all below 
the roof being open. As soon as we entered the 
house she made us sit down, and then calling four 
young girls, she assisted them to take off my shoes, 
draw down my stockings, and pull off my coat, and 
then directed them to smooth down the skin, and 
gently chafe it with their hands. The same opera- 
tion was also performed on the first lieutenant and 
the purser, but upon none of those who appeared to 
be in health. While this was doing, our surgeon, 
who had walked till he was very warm, took off his 
wig to cool and refresh himself : a sudden exclama- 
tion of one of the Indians, who saw it, drew the 
attention of the rest, and in a moment every eye 



OTAHEITE. 23 

was fixed upon the prodigy, and every operation 
was suspended. The whole assembly stood some 
time motionless, in silent astonishment, which could 
not have been more strongly expressed if they had 
discovered that our friend's limbs had been screwed 
on to the trunk. In a short time, however, the 
young women who were chafing us resumed their 
employment, and having continued for about half an 
hour, they dressed us again, but in this they were, 
as may easily be imagined, very awkward ; I found 
great benefit, however, from the chafing, and so did 
the lieutenant and the purser. 

" After a little time our generous benefactress or- 
dered some bales of Indian cloth to be brought out, 
with which she clothed me and all that were with 
me, according to the fashion of the country. At first 
I declined the acceptance of this favour; but being 
unwilling not to seem pleased with what was in- 
tended to please me, I acquiesced. When we went 
away, she ordered a very large sow big with young 
to be taken down to the boat, and accompanied us 
thither herself. She had given directions to her 
people to carry me, as they had done when I came, 
but as I chose rather to walk, she took me by the 
arm, and whenever we came to a plash of water or 
dirt, she lifted me over with as little trouble as it 
would have cost me to have lifted over a child if I 
had been well." 

The following morning Captain Wallis sent her a 
present by the gunner, who found her in the midst 
of an entertainment given to at least a thousand 
people. The messes were put into shells of cocoa- 
nuts, and the shells into wooden trays, like those 
used by our butchers, and she distributed them with 
her own hands to the guests, who were seated in 
rows in the open air round the great house. When 
this was done she sat down herself upon a place 
somewhat elevated above the rest, and two women, 
placing themselves one on each side of her, fed her. 



24 OTAHEITE. 

she opening her mouth as they brought their hands 
up with the food. From this time provisions were 
sent to market in the greatest abundance. The queen 
frequently visited the captain on board, and always 
with a present ; but she never condescended to bar- 
ter, nor would she accept of any return. 

One day, after visiting her at her house, the cap- 
tain at parting made her comprehend by signs that he 
intended to quit the island in seven days. She im- 
mediately understood his meaning, and by similar 
signs expressed her wish that he should stay twenty 
days, that he should go with her a couple of days' 
journey into the country, stay there a few days, re- 
turn with plenty of hogs and poultry, and then go 
away; but on persisting in his first intention she 
burst into tears, and it was not without great diffi- 
culty that she could be pacified. The next time that 
she went on board Captain Wallis ordered a good 
dinner for her entertainment and those chiefs who 
were of her party ; but the queen would neither eat 
nor drink. As she was going over the ship's side 
she asked, by signs, whether he still persisted in leav- 
ing the island at the time he had fixed ; and on re- 
ceiving an answer in the affirmative, she expressed 
her regret by a flood of tears ; and as soon as her 
passion subsided she told the captain that she would 
come on board again the following day. 

Accordingly the next day she again visited the 
ship twice, bringing each time large presents of hogs, 
fowls, and fruits. The captain, after expressing his 
sense of her kindness and bounty, announced his in- 
tention of sailing the following morning. This, as ; 
usual, threw her into tears, and, after recovering 
herself, she made anxious inquiry when he should 
return. He said in fifty days, with which she seemed 
to be satisfied. " She staid on board," says Captain 
Wallis, " till night* and it was then with the greatest 
difficulty that she could be prevailed upon to go on 
shore* When she was told that the boat was readyy 



OTAHEITE. 25 

she threw herself down upon the arm-chest, and 
wept a long time with an excess of passion that 
could not be pacified. At last, however, with the 
greatest reluctance, she was prevailed upon to go into 
the boat, and was followed by her attendants." 

The next day, while the ship was unmooring, the 
whole beach was covered with the inhabitants. The 
queen came down, and, having ordered a double 
canoe to be launched, was rowed off by her own 
people, followed by fifteen or sixteen other canoes. 
She soon made her appearance on board, but, not 
being able to speak, she sat down, and gave vent to 
her passion by weeping. Shortly after, a breeze 
springing up, the ship made sail ; and finding it now 
necessary to return into her canoe, " she embraced 
us all," says Captain Wallis, " in the most affection- 
ate manner, and with many tears ; all her attendants 
also expressed great sorrow at our departure. In a 
few minutes she came into the bow of her canoe, 
where she sat weeping with inconsolable sorrow. I 
gave her many things which I thought would be of 
great use to her, and some for ornament. She si- 
lently accepted of all, but took little notice of any 
thing. About ten o'clock we had got without the 
reef, and a fresh breeze springing up, our Indian 
friends, and particularly the queen, once more bade 
us farewell, with such tenderness of affection and 
grief as filled both my heart and my eyes." 

The tender passion had certainly caught hold of 
one or both of these worthies ; and if her majesty's 
language had been as well understood by Captain 
Wallis as that of Dido was to JSneas when pressing 
him to stay with her, there is no doubt it would 
have been found not less pathetic. 

Nee te noster amor, nee te data dextera quondam, 
Nee moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido ? 

This lady, however, did not sink, like the " miser- 
jrima Dido," under her griefs ; on the contrary, w& 
G 



26 OTAHEITE. 

find her in full activity and animation, and equally 
generous to Lieut. Cook and his party, under the 
name of Oherea, who, it now appeared, was no queen* 
but whose husband they discovered was uncle to the 
young king, then a minor, but from whom she was 
separated. She soon evinced a partiality for Mr 
Banks, though not quite so strong as that for Wallis , 
but it appears to have been mutual* until an unlucky 
discovery took place that she had at her command 
a stout, strong-boned cavaliere servente; added to 
which, a theft rather of an amusing nature contrib- 
uted for a time to create a coolness, and somewhat 
to disturb the good understanding that had subsisted 
between them. It happened that a party, consisting 
of Cook, Banks, Solander, and three or four others, 
was benighted at a distance from the anchorage* 
Mr. Banks, says Lieut. Cook, thought himself fortu- 
nate in being offered a place by Oberea in her own 
canoe, and, wishing his friends a good night, took 
his leave. He went to rest early, according to the 
custom of the country ; and taking off his clothes, as 
was his constant practice, the nights being hot, Obe- 
rea kindly insisted upon taking them into her own 
custody, for otherwise, she said, they would cer- 
tainly be stolen. Mr. Banks, having, as he thought, 
so good a safeguard, resigned himself to sleep with 
all imaginable tranquillity; but awakening about 
eleven o'clock, and wanting to get up, he searched 
for his clothes where he had seen them carefully 
deposited by Oberea when he lay down to sleep, and 
perceived, to his sorrow and surprise, that they were 
missing. He immediately awakened Oberea, who, 
starting up and hearing his complaint, ordered lights, 
and prepared in great haste to recover what had been 
lost. Tootahah, the regent, slept in the next canoe, 
and, being soon alarmed, he came to them, and set 
out with Oberea in search of the thief. Mr. Banks 
was not in a condition to go with them, as of liis ; 
apparel scarcely any thing was left him but his 



OTAHEITE. 27 

1 i 

breeches. In about half an hour his two noble 
friends returned, but without having obtained any 
intelligence of his clothes or of the thief. Where 
Cook and Solander had disposed of themselves he 
did not know ; but hearing music, which was sure 
to bring a crowd together, in which there was a 
chance of his associates being among them, he rose, 
and made the best of his way towards it, and joined 
his party, as Cook says, " more than half-naked, and 
told us his melancholy story." 

It was some consolation to find that his friends 
were fellow-sufferers, Cook having lost his stockings, 
that had been stolen from under his head, though he 
had never been asleep, and his associates their jack- 
ets. At daybreak Oberea brought to Mr. Banks some 
of her country clothes ; M so that when he came to 
us," says Cook, " he made a most motley appear- 
ance, half Indian and half English." Such an adven- 
ture must have been highly amusing to him who 
was the object of it when the inconvenience had 
been removed, as every one will admit who knew 
the late venerable president of the Royal Society. 
He never doubted, however, that Oberea was privy 
to the theft, and there was strong suspicion of her 
having some of the articles in her custody. Being 
aware that this feeling existed, she absented herself 
for some time, and when she again appeared she 
said a favourite of hers had taken them away, whom 
she had beaten and dismissed; "but she seemed 
conscious," says Cook, «•' that she had no right to be 
believed ; she discovered the strongest signs of fear, 
yet she surmounted it with astonishing resolution, 
and was very pressing to be allowed to sleep with 
her attendants in Mr. Banks's tent. In this, how- 
ever, she was not gratified." Sir Joseph might have 
thought, that if he complied with her request his 
breeches might be in danger of following the other 
articles of his dress. 

The Otaheitans cannot resist pilfering, 't* I must 



28 OTAHEITE. 

bear my testimony," says Cook, " that the people of 
this country, of all ranks, men and women, are the 
arrantest thieves upon the face of the earth ; but," 
he adds, " we must not hastily conclude that theft is 
a testimony of the same depravity in them that it is 
in us, in the instances in which our people were suf- 
ferers by their dishonesty ; for their temptation was 
such as to surmount what would be considered as a 
proof of uncommon integrity among those who have 
more knowledge, better principles, and stronger mo- 
tives to resist the temptations of illicit advantage. 
An Indian among penny knives and beads, and even 
nails and broken glass, is in the same state of mind 
with the meanest servant in Europe among unlocked 
coffers of jewels and gold." Captain Wallis has 
illustrated the truth of this position by an experi- 
ment he made on some persons whose dress and be- 
haviour indicated that they were of a superior cast. 
" To discover what present," he says, " would most 
gratify them, I laid down before them a Johannes, a 
guinea, a crown-piece, a Spanish dollar, a few shil • 
lings, some new halfpence, and two large nails, 
making signs that they should take what they liked 
best. The nails were first seized with great eager- 
ness, and then a few of the halfpence, but the silver 
and gold lay neglected." Here, then, it might with 
truth be said was discovered 

The goldless age where gold disturbs no dreams. 

But their thirst after iron was irresistible. Wallis's 
ship was stripped of all the nails in her by the sea- 
men to purchase the good graces of the women, who 
assembled in crowds on the shore. The men even 
drew out of different parts of the ship those nails 
that fastened the cleats to her side. This commerce 
established with the women rendered the men, as 
might readily be expected, less obedient to com- 
mand, and made it necessary to punish some of them 
by flogging. The Otaheitans regarded this punish- 
ment with horror. One of Cook's men having in- 



OTAHEITE. 29 

suited a chief's wife, he was ordered to be flogged 
in their presence. The Indians saw him stripped 
and tied up to the rigging with a fixed attention, 
waiting in silent suspense for the event ; but as soon 
as the first stroke was given they interfered with 
great agitation, earnestly entreating that the rest of 
the punishment might be remitted ; and when they 
found they were unable to prevail, they gave vent to 
their pity by tears. " But their tears," as Cook ob- 
serves, " like those of children, were always ready 
to express any passion that was strongly excited, 
and, like those of children, they also appeared to be 
forgotten as soon as shed." And he instances this 
by the following incident: — Mr. Banks, seeing a 
young woman in great affliction, the tears streaming 
from her eyes, inquired earnestly the cause ; but in- 
stead of answering, she took from under her garment 
a shark's tooth, and struck it six or seven times into 
her head with great force ; a profusion of blood fol- 
lowed, and, disregarding his inquiries, she continued 
to talk loud in a melancholy tone, while those around 
were laughing and talking without taking the least 
notice of her distress. The bleeding having ceased, 
she looked up with a smile, and, collecting the pieces 
of cloth which, she had used to stanch the blood, 
threw them into the sea ; then plunging into the 
river, and washing her whole body, she returned to 
the tents with the same gayety and cheerfulness as 
if nothing had happened. The same thing occurred 
in the case of a chief, who had given great offence 
to Mr. Banks, when he and all his followers were over- 
whelmed with grief and dejection ; but one of his 
women having struck a shark's tooth into her head 
several times till it was covered with blood, the 
scene was immediately changed, and laughing and 
good-humour took place. Wallis witnessed the 
same kind of conduct. This, therefore, and the tears 
are probably considered a sort of expiation or doing 
penance for a fault, 

C3 



30 OTAHEITE. 

But the sorrows of these simple and artless people 
are transient. Cook justly observes, that what they 
feel they have never been taught either to disguise 
or suppress ; and having no habits of thinking, which 
perpetually recall the past and anticipate the future, 
they are affected by all the changes of the passing 
hour, and reflect the colour of the time, however fre- 
quently it may vary. They grieve for the death of 
a relation, and place the body on a stage erected 
on piles and covered with a roof of thatch; for they 
never bury the dead, and never approach one of these 
morais without great solemnity ; but theirs is no last- 
ing grief. 

An old woman having died, Mr. Banks, whose pur- 
suit was knowledge of every kind, and to gain it 
made himself one of the people, requested he might 
attend the ceremony and witness all the mysteries 
of the solemnity of depositing the body in the morai. 
The request was complied with, but on no other con 
dition than his taking a part in it. This was just 
what he wished. In the evening he repaired to the 
house of mourning, where he was received by the 
daughter of the deceased and several others, among 
whom was a boy about fourteen years old. One of 
the chiefs of the district was the principal mourner, 
wearing a fantastical dress. Mr. Banks was stripped 
entirely of his European clothes, and a small piece 
of cloth was tied round his middle. His face and 
body were then smeared with charcoal and water as 
low as the shoulders till they were as black as those 
of a negro. The same operation was performed on 
the rest, among whom were some women, who were 
reduced to a state as near to nakedness as himself. 
The boy was blacked all over, after which the pro- 
cession set forward, the chief mourner having mum- 
bled something like a prayer over the body. It is 
the custom of the Indians to fly from these proces- 
sions with the utmost precipitation. On the present 
occasion several large bodies of the natives were put 



OTAHEITE. 31 

to flight, all the houses were deserted, and not an Ota- 
heitan was to be seen. The body being deposited 
on the stage, the mourners were dismissed to wash 
themselves in the river, and to resume their custom- 
ary dresses and their usual gayety. 

They are, however, so jealous of any one approach- 
ing these abodes of the dead, that one of Cook's 
party, happening one day to pull a flower from a tree 
which grew in one of these sepulchral enclosures, 
was struck by a native who saw it, and came sud- 
denly behind him. The morai of Oberea was a pile 
of stone-work, raised pyramidically, two hundred and 
sixty-seven feet long, eighty-seven feet wide, and 
forty-four feet high, terminating in a ridge like the 
roof-of a house, and ascended by steps of white coral 
stone neatly squared and polished, some of them not 
less than three feet and a half by two feet and a half. 
Such a structure, observes Cook, raised without the 
assistance of iron tools or mortar to join them, struck 
us with astonishment, as a work of considerable 
skill and incredible labour. 

On the same principle of making himself ac- 
quainted with every novelty that presented itself, 
Captain Cook states that " Mr. Banks saw the opera- 
tion of tattooing performed upon the back of a girl 
about thirteen years old. The instrument used upon 
this occasion had thirty teeth, and every stroke, of 
which at least a hundred were made in a minute, 
drew an ichor or serum a little tinged with blood. 
The girl bore it with most stoical resolution for 
about a quarter of an hour ; but the pain of so many 
hundred punctures as she had received in that time 
then became intolerable: she first complained in 
murmurs, then wept, and at last burst into loud 
lamentations, earnestly imploring the operator to 
desist. He was, however, inexorable ; and when she 
began to struggle, she was held down by two women, 
who sometimes soothed and sometimes chid her, 
and now and then, when she was most unruly, gave 



32 OTAHEITE. 

her a smart blow. Mr. Banks staid in the neigh- 
bouring house an hour, and the operation was not 
over when he went away." 

The sufferings of this young lady did not, how- 
ever, deter the late president of the Royal Society 
from undergoing the operation on his own person. 

The skill and labour which the Otaheitans bestow 
on their large double boats is not less wonderful 
than their stone morais, from the felling of the tree 
and splitting it into plank, to the minutest carved 
ornaments that decorate the head and the stern. 
The whole operation is performed without the use 
of any metallic instrument. " To fabricate one of 
their principal vessels with their tools is," says 
Cook, •" as great a work as to build a British man 
of war with ours." The fighting boats are some- 
times more than seventy feet long, but not above 
three broad ; but they are fastened in pairs, side by 
side, at the distance of about three feet ; the head 
and stern rise in a semicircular form, the latter to 
the height of seventeen or eighteen feet. To build 
these boats, and the smaller kinds of canoes, — to 
build their houses, and finish the slight furniture they 
contain,— to fell, cleave, carve, and polish timber for 
various purposes,-^and, in short, for every conver- 
sion of wood,--the tools they make use of are the 
following : an adze of stone ; a chisel or gouge of 
bone, generally that of a man's arm between the 
wrist and elbow ; a rasp of coral ; and the skin of a 
stingray, with coral sand as a file or polisher. 

The persons of the Otaheitan men are in general 
tall, strong, well-limbed, and finely shaped ; equal in 
size to the largest of Europeans. The women of 
superior rank are also above the middle stature of 
Europeans, but the inferior class are rather below it. 
The complexion of the former class is that which 
we call a brunette, and the skin is most delicately 
smooth and soft. The shape of the face is comely, 
$he cheek hones are not Jii#h, neither are the eyes 



GTAHEITE. 33 

hollow, nor the brow prominent ; the nose is a little, 
but not much, flattened ; but their eyes, and more 
particularly those of the women, are full of expres- 
sion, sometimes sparkling with fire, and sometimes 
melting with softness ; their teeth also are, almost 
without exception, most beautifully even and white, 
and their breath perfectly without taint. In their 
motions there is at once vigour as well as ease ; 
their walk is graceful, their deportment liberal, and 
their behaviour to strangers and to each other affa- 
ble and courteous. In their dispositions they appear 
to be brave, open, and candid, without suspicion or 
treachery, cruelty or revenge. Mr. Banks had such 
confidence in them as to sleep frequently in their 
houses in the woods without a companion, and con- 
sequently wholly in their power. They are delicate 
and cleanly, almost wholly without example. 

" The natives of Otaheite," says Cook, " both men 
and women, constantly wash their whole bodies in 
running water three times every day ; once as soon 
as they rise in the morning, once at noon, and again 
before they sleep at night, whether the sea or river 
be near them or at a distance. They wash, not only 
the mouth, but the hands at their meals, almost be- 
tween every morsel ; and their clothes, as well as 
their persons, are kept without spot or stain." 

If any one should think this picture somewhat 
overcharged, he will find it fully confirmed in an 
account of them made by gentlemen of the highest 
respectability. In the first missionary voyage, in 
the year 1797, the natives of Otaheite are thus 
described : 

"Natural colour olive, inclining to copper; the 
women, who carefully clothe themselves and avoid 
the sunbeams, are but a shade or two darker than a 
European brunette ; their eyes are black and spar- 
kling ; their teeth white and even ; their skin soft and 
delicate ; their limbs finely turned ; their hair jetty 



34 OTAHEITE. 

perfumed and ornamented with flowers ; they are in 
general large and wide over the shoulders ; we were 
therefore disappointed in the judgment we had 
formed from the report of preceding visiters ; and 
though here and there was to be seen a young per- 
son who might be esteemed comely, we saw few 
who, in fact, could be called beauties ; yet they pos- 
sess eminent feminine graces : their faces are never 
darkened with a scowl, or covered with a cloud of 
sullenness or suspicion. Their manners are affable 
and engaging ; their step easy, firm, and graceful ; 
their behaviour free and unguarded ; always bound- 
less in generosity to each other and to strangers; 
their tempers mild, gentle, and unaffected ; slow to 
take offence, easily pacified, and seldom retaining 
resentment or revenge, whatever provocation they 
may have received. Their arms and hands are very 
delicately formed; and though they go barefoot, 
their feet are not coarse and spreading. 

" As wives in private life, they are affectionate, 
tender, and obedient to their husbands, and unconir 
monly fond of their children : they nurse them with 
the utmost care, and are particularly attentive to 
keep the infant's limbs supple and straight. A crip- 
ple is hardly ever seen among them in early life. A 
rickety child is never known ; any thing resembling 
it would reflect the highest disgrace on the mother. 

" The Otaheitans have no partitions in their houses ; 
but it may be affirmed they have in many instances 
more refined ideas of decency than ourselves ; and 
one long a resident scruples not to declare, that he 
never saw any appetite, hunger and thirst excepted, 
gratified in public. It is too true, that for the sake 
of gaining our extraordinary curiosities, and to please 
our brutes, they have appeared immodest in the ex- 
treme. Yet they lay this charge wholly at our door, 
and say that Englishmen are ashamed of nothing, 
and that we have led them to public acts of hide-? 
cency never before practised among themselves ? 



OTAHEITE. 35 

Iron here, more precious than gold, bears down every 
barrier of restraint ; honesty and modesty yield to 
the force of temptation."* 

Such are the females and the mothers here de- 
scribed, whose interesting offspring are now peo- 
pling Pitcairn's Island, and who, while they inherit 
their'mothers' virtues, have hitherto kept themselves 
free from their vices. 

The greater part of the food of Otaheitans is vege- 
table. Hogs, dogs, and poultry are their only ani- 
mals, and all of them serve for food. "We all 
agreed," says Cook, " that a South Sea dog was little 
inferior to an English lamb," which he ascribes to 
its being kept up and fed wholly on vegetables. 
Broiling and baking are the only two modes of ap- 
plying fire to their cookery. Captain Wallis ob- 
serves, that having no vessel in which water could 
be subjected to the action of fire, they had no more 
idea that it could be made hot, than that it could be 
made solid'; and he mentions that one of the attend- 
ants of the supposed queen, having observed the sur- 
geon fill the teapot from an urn, turned the cock 
himself, and received the water in his hand ; and 
that as soon as he felt himself scalded, he roared out 
and began to dance about the cabin with the most 
extravagant and ridiculous expressions of pain and 
astonishment ; his companions, unable to conceive 
what was the matter, staring at him in amaze,- and 
not without some mixture of terror. 

One of Oberea's peace-offerings to Mr. Banks, for 
the robbery of his clothes committed in her boat, 
was a fine fat dog, and the way in which it was pre- 
pared and baked was as follows. Tupei, the high- 
priest, undertook to perform the double office of 
butcher and cook. He first killed him by holding 
his hands close over his mouth and nose for the 
space of a quarter of an hour. A hole was then 

* A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean, Appendix.' 
p. 336, 342. 



36 OTAHEITE. 

made in the ground about a foot deep, in which a 
fire was kindled, and some small stones placed in 
layers, alternately with the wood, to be heated. 
The dog was then singed, scraped with a shell, and 
the hair taken off as clean as if he had been scalded 
in hot water. He was then cut up with the same 
instrument, and his entrails carefully washed. When 
the hole was sufficiently heated, the fire was taken 
out, and some of the stones, being placed at the bot- 
tom, were covered with green leaves. The dog, 
with the entrails, was then placed upon the leaves, 
and other leaves being laid upon them, the whole 
was covered with the rest of the hot stones, and the 
mouth of the hole close stopped Avith mould. In 
somewhat less than four hours, it was again opened, 
and the dog taken out excellently baked, and the 
party all agreed that he made a very good dish. 
These dogs, it seems, are bred to be eaten, and live 
wholly on bread-fruit, cocoanuts, yams, and other 
vegetables of the like kind. 

The food of the natives, being chiefly vegetable, 
consists of the various preparations of the bread- 
fruit, of cocoanuts, bananas, plantains, and a great 
variety of other fruit, the spontaneous products of 
a rich soil and genial climate. The bread-fruit, 
when baked in the same manner as the dog was, is 
rendered soft, and not unlike a boiled potato ; not 
quite so farinaceous as a good one, but more so than 
those of the middling sort. Much of this fruit is 
gathered before it is ripe, and by a certain process 
is made to undergo the two states of fermentation, 
the saccharine and acetous, in the latter of which 
it is moulded into balls, and called mahie. The 
natives seldom make a meal without this sour paste. 
Salt water is the universal sauce, without which no 
meal is eaten. Their drink in general consists of 
water, or the juice of the cocoanut, the art of pro- 
ducing liquors that intoxicate by fermentation being 
at this time happily unknown among them ; neither 



OTAHEITE. 37 

did they make use of any narcotic, as the natives 
of some other countries do opium, betel-nut, and 
tobacco. One day the wife of one of the chiefs 
came running to Mr. Banks, who was always applied 
to in every emergency and distress, and with a mix- 
ture of grief and terror in her countenance, made 
him understand that her husband was dying, in con- 
sequence of something the strangers had given him 
to eat. Mr. Banks found his friend leaning his head 
against a post, in an attitude of the utmost languor 
and despondency. His attendants brought out a 
leaf folded up with great care, containing part of the 
poison of the effects of which their master was now 
dying. On opening the leaf Mr. Banks found in it 
a chew of tobacco, which the chief had asked from 
some of the seamen, and imitating them, as he 
thought, he had rolled it about in his mouth, grind- 
ing it to powder with his teeth, and ultimately swal- 
lowing it. During the examination of the leaf he 
looked up at Mr. Banks with the most piteous coun- 
tenance, and intimated that he had but a very short 
time to live. A copious draught of cocoanut milk, 
however, set all to rights, and the chief and his at- 
tendants were at once restored to that flow of cheer- 
fulness and good-humour, which is the characteristic 
of these single-minded people. 

There is, however, one plant from the root of 
which they extract a juice of an intoxicating quality, 
called ava, but Cook's party saw nothing of its 
effects, probably owing to their considering drunk- 
enness as a disgrace. This vice of drinking ava is 
said to be peculiar almost to the chiefs, who vie 
with each other in drinking the greatest number of 
draughts, each draught being about a pint. They 
keep this intoxicating juice with great care from the 
women. 

As eating is one of the most important concerns 
of life here as well as elsewhere, Captain Cook's 
description of a meal made by one of the chiefs of 
D 



38 OTAHEITE. 

the island cannot be considered as uninteresting, and 
is here given in his own words. 

" He sits down under the shade of the next tree, 
or on the shady side of his house, and a large quan- 
tity of leaves, either of the bread-fruit or bananas, 
are neatly spread before him upon the ground as a 
tablecloth ; a basket is then set by him, that contains 
his provision, which, if fish or flesh, is ready dressed, 
and wrapped up in leaves, and two cocoanut shells, 
one full of salt Water and one of fresh. His attend- 
ants, which are not few, seat themselves round him ; 
and when all is ready, he begins by washing his 
hands and his mouth thoroughly with the fresh water, 
and this he repeats almost continually throughout 
the whole meal. He then takes part of his provi- 
sion out of the basket, which generally consists of 
a small fish or two, two or three bread-fruits, four- 
teen or fifteen ripe bananas, or six or seven apples. 
He first takes half a bread-fruit, peels off the rind, 
and takes out the core with his nails ; of this he 
puts as much into his mouth as it can hold, and 
while he chews it, takes the fish out of the leaves 
and breaks one of them into the salt Water, placing 
the other, and what remains of the bread-fruit, upon 
the leaves that have been spread before him. When 
this is done, he takes up a small piece of the fish 
that has been broken into the salt water, with all 
the fingers of one hand, and sucks it into his mouth, 
so as to get with it as much of the salt water as 
possible. In the same manner he takes the rest by 
different morsels, and between each, at least very 
frequently, takes a small sup of the salt water, 
either out of the cocoanut shell, or the palm of his 
hand. In the mean time one of his attendants has 
prepared a young cocoanut, by peeling off the outer 
rind with his teeth, an operation which to a Euro- 
pean appears very surprising; but it depends so 
much upon sleight, that many of us were able to do 
it before we left the island^ and some that could 



OTAHEITE. 39 

scarcely crack a filbert. The master when he 
chooses to drink takes the cocoanut thus prepared, 
and boring a hole through the shell with his fingers, 
or breaking it with a stone, he sucks out the liquor. 
When he has eaten his bread-fruit and fish, he begins 
with his plantains, one of which makes but a mouth- 
ful, though it be as big as a black-pudding ; if in- 
stead of plantains he has apples, he never tastes 
them till they have been pared ; to do this a shell is 
picked up from the ground, where they are always 
in plenty, and tossed to him by an attendant. He 
immediately begins to cut or scrape off the rind, 
but so awkwardly that great part of the fruit is 
wasted. If, instead of fish, he has flesh, he must 
have some succedaneum for a knife to divide it ; and 
for this purpose a piece of bamboo is tossed to him, 
of which he makes the necessary implement by 
splitting it transversely with his nail. While all 
this has been doing, some of his attendants have 
been employed in beating bread-fruit with a stone 
pestle upon a block of wood; by being beaten in 
this manner, and sprinkled from time to time with 
water, it is reduced to the consistence of a soft 
paste, and is then put into a vessel somewhat like a 
butcher's tray, and either made up alone, or mixed 
with banana or mahie, according to the taste of the 
master, by pouring water upon it by degrees and 
squeezing it often through the hand. Under this 
operation it acquires the consistence of a thick cus- 
tard, and a large cocoanut shell full of it being set 
before him, he sips it as we should do a jelly if we 
had no spoon to take it from the glass. The meal 
is then finished by again washing his hands and 
his mouth. After which the cocoanut shells are 
cleaned, and every thing that is left is replaced in the 
basket." 

Captain Cook adds, " the quantity of food which 
these people eat at a meal is prodigious. I have 
seen one man devour two or three fishes as big as 



40 otaheite: 

a perch; three bread-fruits, each bigger than two 
fists ; fourteen or fifteen plantains or bananas, each 
of them six or seven inches long, and four or five 
round ; and near a quart of the pounded bread-fruit, 
which is as substantial as the thickest unbaked cus- 
tard. This is so extraordinary that I scarcely expect 
to be believed ; and I would not have related it upon 
my own single testimony, but Mr. Banks, Dr. So- 
lander, and most of the other gentlemen have had 
ocular demonstration of its truth, and know that I 
mention them on the occasion." 

The women, who, on other occasions, always mix 
in the amusements of the men, who are particularly 
fond of their society, are wholly excluded from their 
meals ; nor could the latter be prevailed on to partake 
of any thing when dining in company on board ship ; 
they said it was not right ; even brothers and sisters 
have each their separate baskets, and their provi- 
sions are separately prepared; but the English offi- 
cers and men, when visiting the young ones at their 
own houses, frequently ate out of the same basket 
and drank out of the same cup, to the horror and 
dismay of the older ladies, who were always offended 
at this liberty ; and if by chance any of the victuals 
were touched, or even the basket that contained them, 
they would throw them away. 

In this fine climate houses are almost unneces- 
sary. The minimum range of the thermometer is 
about 63°, the maximum 85°, giving an average of 
74°. Their sheds or houses consist generally of a 
thatched roof raised on posts, the eaves reaching to 
within three or four feet of the ground ; the floor is 
covered with soft hay, over which are laid mats, so 
that the whole is one cushion, on which they sit by 
day and sleep by night. They eat in the open air, 
under the shade of the nearest tree. In each dis- 
trict there is a house erected for general use, much 
larger than common, some of them exceeding two 
hundred feet in length, thirty broad, and twenty high. 



OTAHEITE. 41 

The dwelling-houses all stand in the woody belt 
which surrounds the island, between the feet of the 
central mountains and the sea, each having a very- 
small piece of ground cleared, just enough to keep 
the dropping of the trees from the thatch. An Ota- 
heitan wood consists chiefly of groves of bread- 
fruit and cocoanuts, without underwood, and inter- 
sected in all directions by the paths that lead from 
one house to another. " Nothing," says Cook, 
" can be more grateful than this shade, in so warm 
a climate, nor any thing more beautiful than these 
walks." 

With all the activity they are capable of display- 
ing, and the sprightliness of their disposition, they 
are fond of indulging in ease and indolence. The 
trees that produce their food are mostly of sponta- 
neous growth, — the bread-fruit, cocoanut, bananas 
of thirteen sorts, besides plantains, — a fruit not un- 
like an apple, which, when ripe, is very pleasant ; 
sweet potatoes, yams, and a species of arum ; the 
pandanus, the jambu, and the sugar-cane ; a variety 
of plants whose roots are esculent — these, with 
many others, are produced with so little culture, 
that, as Cook observes, they seem to be exempted 
from the first general curse that " man should eat 
his bread in the sweat of his brow." Then for 
clothing they have the bark of three different trees, 
the paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and a tree 
which resembles the wild fig-tree of the West 
Indies; of these the mulberry only requires to be 
cultivated. 

In preparing the cloth they display a very consid- 
erable degree of ingenuity. Red and yellow are 
the two colours most in use for dying their cloth ; 
the red is stated to be exceedingly brilliant and 
beautiful, approaching nearest to our full scarlet ; it 
is produced by the mixture of the juices of two 
vegetables, neither of which separately has the least 
tendency to that hue : one is the cordia sebestim, th$ 
D2 



42 OTAHEITE. 

other a species of ficus; of the former the leaves, 
of the latter the fruits yield the juices. The yellow 
die is extracted from the bark of the root of the 
morinda citrifolia, by scraping and infusing it in 
water. 

Their matting is exceedingly beautiful, particularly 
that which is made from the bark of the hibiscus 
tiliaceus, and of a species of pandanus. Others are 
made of rushes and grass with amazing facility and 
despatch. In the same manner their basket and 
wicker work are most ingeniously made ; the 
former in patterns of a thousand different kinds. 
Their nets and fishing-lines are strong and neatly 
made, so are their fish-hooks of pearl-shell; and 
their clubs are admirable specimens of wood- 
carving. 

A people so lively, sprightly, and good-humoured 
as the Otaheitans are, must necessarily have their 
amusements. They are fond of music, such as is 
derived from a rude flute and a drum ; of dancing, 
wrestling, shooting with the bow, and throwing the 
lance. They exhibit frequent trials of skill and 
strength in wrestling ; and Cook says it is scarcely 
possible for those who are acquainted with the ath- 
letic sports of very remote antiquity, not to remark 
a rude resemblance of them in a wrestling-match 
(which he describes) among the natives of a little 
island in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. 

But these simple-minded people have their vices, 
and great ones too. Chastity is almost unknown 
among a certain description of women : there is a 
detestable society called Arreoy, composed, it would 
seem, of a particular class, who are supposed to be 
the chief warriors of the island. In this society 
the men and women live in common ; and on the 
birth of a child it is immediately smothered, that its 
bringing up may not interfere with the brutal plea- 
sures of either father or mother. Another savage 
practice is that of immolating human beings at the 



OTAHEITE. 43 

morals, which serve as temples as well as sepulchres, 
" With regard to their worship," Captain Cook does 
the Otaheitans but justice in saying, " they reproach 
many who bear the name of Christians. YoU see 
no instances of an Otaheitan drawing near the Eatooa 
with carelessness and inattention. He is all devo- 
tion ; he approaches the place of worship with reve- 
rential awe ; uncovers when he treads on sacred 
ground; and prays with a fervour that would do 
honour to a better profession. He firmly credits 
the traditions of his ancestors. None dares dispute 
the existence of the Deity." Thieving may also be 
reckoned as one of their vices; this, however, is 
common to all uncivilized nations, and, it may be 
added, civilized too. But to judge them fairly in 
this respect, we should compare their situation with 
that of a more civilized people. A native of Ota- 
heite goes on board a ship, and finds himself in the 
midst of iron bolts, nails, knives, scattered about, and 
is tempted to carry off a few of them. If we could 
suppose a ship from El Dorado to arrive in the 
Thames, and that the custom-house officers, on 
boarding her, found themselves in the midst of bolts, 
hatchets, chisels, all of solid gold, scattered about 
the deck, one need scarcely say what would be likely 
to happen. If the former found the temptation irre- 
sistible to supply himself with what was essentially 
useful, the latter would be as little able to resist that 
which would contribute to the indulgence of his ava- 
rice, or the gratification of his pleasures, or of both. 
Cook appears not to have exercised his usual judg- 
ment in estimating the population of this island. 
After stating the number of war-canoes at seventeen 
hundred and twenty, and able men to man them at 
sixty-eight thousand eight hundred, he comes to the 
conclusion that the population must consist of two 
hundred and four thousand souls ; and, reflecting on 
the vast swarms which everywhere appeared, "I 
was convinced," he says, •" that this estimate was 



44 OTAHEITE. 

not much, if at all, too great." By a survey of the 
iirst missionaries, and a census of the inhabitants 
taken in 1797, the population was estimated at six- 
teen thousand and fifty souls. Captain Waldegrave, 
in 1830, states it to be much less. 

The island of Otaheite is in shape two circles 
united by a low and narrow isthmus. The larger 
circle is named Otaheite Mooe, and is about thirty 
miles in diameter ; the lesser, named Tiaraboo, about 
ten miles in diameter. A. belt of low land, termi- 
nating in numerous valleys, ascending by gentle 
slopes to the central mountain, which is about seven 
thousand feet high, surrounds the larger circle, and 
the same is the case with the smaller circle on a pro- 
portionate scale. Down these valleys flow streams 
and rivulets of clear water, and the most luxuriant 
and verdant foliage fills their sides and the hilly 
ridges that separate them, among which are scat- 
tered the smiling cottages and little plantations of 
jthe natives. 

[The following remarks, by Mr. C. S. Stewart, in 
relation to these islanders, are worthy of the en- 
lightened mind of the author, and forcibly contrast 
the former with the present state of the people : — 

" If the aspect of the people in general, and tne 
animated declaration and lively sensibility, even to 
tears seemingly of deep feeling, of those who have a 
full remembrance, and who largely share in their 
own experience of the evils of heathenism, are to be 
accredited, the islanders themselves are far from 
being insensible to the benefit and blessing of the 
change they have experienced ; and would not for 
worlds be deprived of the light and mercy they have 
received, or again be subjected to the mental and 
moral darkness and various degradation from which 
they have escaped. 

" Yet there are those who have visited the South 
Seas — men bearing the Christian name, with a repu- 
tation for science, and holding stations of honour-— 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 45 

who have affected to discover a greater degree of 
depravity and more wretchedness at Tahiti and Rai- 
atea than was known in the reign and terror of idol- 
atry ; and have ventured to proclaim to the world, 
that Christianity has here, for the first time in eigh- 
teen hundred years, had the effect of rendering the 
inhabitants vindictive and hateful, indolent and cor- 
rupt, superstitious and unhappy, and more pitiable in 
all their circumstances than when fully in a pagan 
state ! and that the wars introduced and encouraged 
by the messengers of peace have nearly exterminated 
the race ! 

" Whence the data for such a sentiment could have 
been drawn must for ever remain a mystery, at least 
to all who, like ourselves, have had the advantage of 
a personal observation in the case."] 



CHAPTER II. 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 



" The happy shores without a law. 

****** 

Where all partake the earth without dispute, 

And bread itself is gather'd as a fruit ; 

Where none contest the fields, the woods, the streams, 

The goidless age, where gold disturbs no dreams, 

Inhabits or inhabited the shore, 

Till Europe taught them better than before."— Byron. 

In the year 1787, being seventeen years after 
Cook's return from his first voyage, the merchants 
and planters resident in London, and interested in 
the West India possessions, having represented to 
his majesty that the introduction of the bread-fruit 
tree into the islands of those seas, to constitute an 
article of food, would be of very essential benefit to 



46 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

the inhabitants, the king was graciously pleased to 
comply with their request : and a vessel was ac- 
cordingly purchased, and fitted at Deptford with the 
necessary fixtures and preparations for carrying 
into effect the benevolent object of the voyage. The 
arrangements for disposing the plants were under- 
taken, and completed in a most ingenious and effec- 
tive manner, by Sir Joseph Banks, who superintended 
the whole equipment of the ship with the greatest 
attention and assiduity till she was in all respects 
ready for sea. He named the ship the Bounty, and 
recommended Lieutenant Bligh, who had been with 
Captain Cook, to command her. Her burden was 
about two hundred and fifteen tons ; and her estab- 
lishment consisted of one lieutenant, who was com- 
manding officer, one master, three warrant officers, 
one surgeon, two master's mates, two midshipmen, 
and thirty-four petty officers and seamen, making in 
all forty-four ; to which were added two skilful and 
careful men, recommended by Sir Joseph Banks, to 
have the management of the plants intended to be 
carried to the West Indies, and others to be brought 
home for his majesty's garden at Kew : one was 
David Nelson, who had served in a similar situation 
in Capain Cook's last voyage ; the other William 
Brown, as an assistant to him. 

The object of all the former voyages to the 
South Seas undertaken by command of his majesty 
George III., was the increase of knowledge by new 
discoveries, and the advancement of science, more 
particularly of natural history and geography : the 
intention of the present voyage was to derive some 
practical benefit from the distant discoveries that had 
already been made ; and no object was deemed more 
likely to realize the expectation of benefit than the 
bread-fruit, which afforded to the natives of Otaheite 
so very considerable a portion of their food, and. 
which it was hoped it might also do for the black 






THE BREAD-FRUIT. 47 

population of the West India islands. The bread- 
fruit plant was no new discovery of either Wallis or 
Cook. So early as the year 1688, that excellent old 
navigator Dampier thus describes it : — " The bread- 
fruit, as we call it, grows on a large tree, as big and 
high as our largest apple-trees ; it hath a spread- 
ing head, full of branches and dark leaves. The 
fruit grows on the boughs like apples ; it is as big as 
a penny loaf, when wheat is at five shillings the 
bushel ; it is of a round shape, and hath a thick 
tough rind ; when the fruit is ripe it is yellow and 
soft, and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The 
natives of Guam use it for bread. They gather it, 
when full grown, while it is green and hard ; then 
they bake it in an oven, which scorcheth the rind and 
makes it black, but they scrape off the outside black 
crust, and there remains a tender thin crust ; and the 
inside is soft, tender, and white, like the crumb of a 
penny-loaf. There is neither seed nor stone in the 
inside, but all is of a pure substance like bread. It 
must be eaten new ; for if it is kept above twenty- 
four hours, it grows harsh and choaky ; but it is very 
pleasant before it is too stale. This fruit lasts in 
season eight months in the year, during which the 
natives eat no other sort of food of bread kind. I 
did never see of this fruit anywhere but here. The 
natives told us that there is plenty of this fruit grow- 
ing on the rest of the Ladrone Islands ; and I did 
never hear of it anywhere else." 

Lord Anson corroborates this account of the 
bread-fruit, and says that while at Tinian it was 
constantly eaten by his officers and ship's company 
during their two months' stay, instead of bread ; and 
so universally preferred, that no ship's bread was 
expended in that whole interval. The only essential 
difference between Dampier's and Cook's descrip- 
tion is, where the latter says, which is true, that this 
fruit has a core, and that the eatable part lies be- 
tween the skin and the core. Cook says also thai 



48 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, some- 
what resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread 
mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke. From such a 
description, it is not surprising that the West India 
planters should have felt desirous of introducing it 
into those islands ; and accordingly the introduction 
of it was subsequently accomplished, notwithstand- 
ing the failure of the present voyage ; it has not, 
however, been found to answer the expectation that 
had reasonably been entertained. The climate, as 
to latitude, ought to be the same, or nearly so, as 
that of Otaheite, but there would appear to be some 
difference in the situation or nature of the soil, that 
prevents it from thriving in the West India islands. 
At Otaheite, and on several of the Pacific islands, 

" The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields 
The unreap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields, 
And bakes its unadulterated loaves 
Without a furnace in unpurchased groves, 
And flings off famine from its fertile breast, 
A priceless market for the gathering guest — " 

is, to the natives of those islands a most invaluable 
gift, but it has not been found to yield similar bene- 
fits to the West India islands. 

On the 23d December, 1787, the Bounty sailed 
from Spithead, and on the 26th it blew a severe 
storm of wind from the eastward, which continued: 
to the 29th, in the course of which the ship suffered 
greatly. One sea broke away the spare yards and 
spars out of the starboard main-chains. Another 
heavy sea broke into the ship and stove all the boats. 
Several casks of beer that had been lashed upon 
deck were broke loose and washed overboard ; and 
it was not without great difficulty and risk that they 
were able to secure the boats from being washed 
away entirely. Besides other mischief done to them 
in this storm, a large quantity of bread was dam- 
aged and rendered useless, for the sea had stove iif 
the stern and filled the cabin with water. 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 49 

This made it desirable to touch at Teneriffe to put 
the ship to rights, where they arrived on the 5th 
January, 1788, and having refitted and refreshed, 
they sailed again on the 10th. 

" I now," says Bligh, " divided the people into three 
watches, and gave the charge of the third watch to 
Mr. Fletcher Christian, one of the mates. I have 
always considered this a desirable regulation when 
circumstances will admit of it, and I am persuaded 
that unbroken rest not only contributes much to- 
wards the health of the ship's company, but enables 
them more readily to exert themselves in cases of 
sudden emergency." 

Wishing to proceed to Otaheite without stopping, 
and the late storm having diminished their supply 
of provisions, it was deemed expedient to put all 
hands on an allowance of two-thirds of bread. It was 
also decided that water for drinking should be passed 
through filtering-stones that had been procured at 
Teneriffe. " I now," says Bligh, " made the ship's 
company acquainted with the object of the voyage, 
and gave assurances of the certainty of promotion to 
every one whose endeavours should merit it." No- 
thing, indeed, seemed to be neglected on the part of 
the commander to make his officers and men com- 
fortable and happy. He was himself a thorough- 
bred sailor, and availed himself of every possible 
means of preserving the health of his crew. Con- 
tinued rain and a close atmosphere had covered every 
thing in the ship with mildew. She was therefore 
aired below with fires, and frequently sprinkled with 
vinegar, and every interval of dry weather was taken 
advantage of to open all the hatchways, and clean 
the ship, and to have all the people's wet things 
washed and dried. With these precautions to se- 
cure health, they passed the hazy and sultry atmos- 
phere of the low latitudes without a single com- 
plaint. 

On Sunday, the 2d March, Lieutenant Bligh ob° 



50 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

serves, " after seeing that every person was clean, 
divine service was performed, according to my usual 
custom. On this day I gave to Mr. Fletcher Chris- 
tian, whom I had before desired to take charge of 
the third watch, a written order to act as lieutenant." 

Having reached as far as the latitude of 36° south, 
on the 9th March, " the change of temperature," he 
observes, " began now to be sensibly felt, there being 
a variation in the thermometer, since yesterday, of 
eight degrees. That the people might not suffer by 
their own negligence, I gave orders for their light 
tropical clothing to be put by, and made them dress 
in a manner more suited to a cold climate. I had 
provided for this before I left England, by giving di- 
rections for such clothes to be purchased as would 
be found necessary. On this day, on a complaint of 
the master, I found it necessary to punish Matthew 
Quintal, one of the seamen, with two dozen lashes, 
for insolence and mutinous behaviour. Before this 
I had not had occasion to punish any person on 
board." 

The sight of New-year's Harbour, in Staaten 
Land, almost tempted him, he says, to put in ; but 
the lateness of the season, and the people being in 
good health, determined him to lay aside all thoughts 
of refreshment until they should reach Otaheite. 
Indeed, the extraordinary care he had taken to pre-> 
serve the health of the ship's company rendered 
any delay in this cold and inhospitable region un- 
necessary.- 

They soon after this had to encounter tremendous 
weather off Cape Horn, storms of wind, with hail 
and sleet, which made it necessary to keep a con- 
stant fire night and day ; and one of the watch 
always attended to dry the people's wet clothes. 
This stormy weather continued for nine days ; the 
ship began to complain, and required pumping every 
hour ; the decks became so leaky that the com" 
niander was obliged to allot the great cabin to those- 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 51 

who had wet berths, to hang their hammocks in. 
Finding they were losing ground every day, and that 
it was hopeless to persist in attempting a passage by 
this route, at this season of the year, to the Society 
Islands, and after struggling for thirty days in this 
tempestuous ocean, it was determined to bear away 
for the Cape of Good Hope. The helm was accord- 
ingly put a- weather, to the great joy of every person 
on board. 

They arrived at the Cape on the 23d May, and 
having remained there thirty-eight days to refit the 
ship, replenish provisions, and refresh the crew, they 
sailed again on the 1st July, and anchored in Adven- 
ture Bay, in Van Dieman's Land, on the 20th August. 
Here they remained taking in wood and water till 
the 4th September, and on the evening of the 25th 
October they saw Otaheite ; and the next day came 
to anchor in Matavai Bay, after a distance which the 
ship had run over, by the log, since leaving England, 
of twenty-seven thousand and eighty-six miles, being 
on an average one hundred and eight miles each 
twenty-four hours. Of their proceedings in Ota- 
heite a short abstract from Bligh's Journal will 
suffice. 

Many inquiries were made by the natives after 
Captain Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, and others of their 
former friends. " One of my first questions," says 
Bligh, " was after our friend Omai ; and it was a 
sensible mortification and disappointment for me to 
hear, that not only Omai, but both the New-Zealand 
boys who had been left with him, were dead. There 
appeared among the natives in general great good- 
will towards us, and they seemed to be much 
rejoiced at our arrival. The whole day we expe^ 
rienced no instance of dishonesty ; and we were so 
much crowded, that I could not undertake to remove 
to a more proper station without danger of dis- 
obliging our visiters, by desiring them to leave th§ 
>ship." 



52 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

Otoo, the chief of the district, on hearing of the 
arrival of the Bounty, sent a small pig and a young 
plantain-tree, as a token of friendship. The ship 
was now plentifully supplied with provisions ; every 
man on board having as much as he could consume. 

As soon as the ship was secured, Lieutenant Bligh 
went on shore with the chief, Poeeno, passing 
through a walk delightfully shaded with bread-fruit 
trees to his own house, where his wife and her sister 
were busily employed staining a piece of cloth red. 
They desired him to sit down on a mat, and Avith 
great kindness offered him refreshments. Several 
strangers were now introduced, who came to offer 
their congratulations, and behaved with great de- 
corum and attention. On taking leave, he says, 
" the ladies, for they deserve to be called such from 
their natural and unaffected manners, and elegance 
of deportment, got up, and taking some of their 
finest cloth and a mat, clothed me in the Otaheitan 
fashion, and then said, * We will go with you to 
your boat ;' and each taking me by the hand, amid 
a great crowd, led me to the water-side, and then 
took their leave." In this day's walk, Bligh had the 
satisfaction to see that the island had received some 
benefit from the former visits of Captain Cook. 
Two shaddocks were brought to him, a fruit which 
they had not till Cook introduced it ; and among the 
articles which they brought off to the ship, and 
offered for sale, were capsicums, pumpkins, and two 
young goats. " In the course of two or three days," 
says he, " an intimacy between the natives and the 
ship's company was become so general, that there 
was scarcely a man in the ship who had not already 
his tayo or friend." 

Nelson, the gardener, and his assistant, being sent 
out to look for young plants, it was no small degree 
of pleasure to find them report, on their return, that 
according to appearances, the object of the voyage 
would probably be accomplished with ease; the 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 53 

plants were plentiful, and no apparent objection on 
the part of the natives to collect as many as might 
be wanted. Nelson had the gratification to meet 
with two fine shaddock-trees which he had planted 
in 1777, and which were now full of fruit, but not 
ripe. 

Presents were now given to Otoo, the chief of 
Matavai, who had changed his name to Tinah. He 
was told, that on account of the kindness of his 
people to Captain Cook, and from a desire to serve 
him and his country, King George had sent out those 
valuable presents to him ; " and will you not, Tinah," 
said Bligh, " send something to King George in re- 
turn 1" — " Yes," he said, " 1 will send him any thing 
I have ;" and then began to enumerate the different 
articles in his power, among which he mentioned the 
bread-fruit. This was the exact point to which 
Bligh was endeavouring to lead him, and he was im- 
mediately told that the bread-fruit-trees were what 
King George would like very much, on which he 
promised that a great many should be put on board. 

Hitherto no thefts had been committed, and Bligh 
was congratulating himself on the improvement of 
the Otaheitans in this respect, as the same facilities 
and the same temptations were open to them as be- 
fore. The ship, as on former occasions, was con- 
stantly crowded with visiters. One day, however, 
the gudgeon of the rudder belonging to the large 
cutter was drawn out and stolen, without being per- 
ceived by the man who was stationed to take care 
of her; and as this and some other petty thefts, 
^mostly owing to the negligence of the men, were 
commencing, and would have a tendency to interrupt 
,the good terms on which they were with the chiefs, 
"I thought," says Bligh, "it would have a good 
.effect to punish the boatkeeper in their presence, 
,and accordingly I ordered him a dozen lashes. All 
who attended the punishment interceded very ear- 
nestly to get it mitigated ; the women showed great 
E2 



54 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

sympathy, and that degree of feeling which charac • 
terizes the amiable part of their sex." 

The longer they remained on the island the more 
they had occasion to be pleased with the conduct of 
the islanders, and the less incommoded, either on 
board or when on shore, by the natives following 
them as at first. Into every house they wished to 
enter they always experienced a kind reception. 
The Otaheitans, we are told, have the most perfect 
easiness of manner, equally free from forwardness 
and formality ; and that " there is a candour and shir 
cerity about them that is quite delightful." When 
they offer refreshments, for instance, if they are not 
accepted they do not think of offering them a second 
time ; for they have not the least idea of that cere- 
monious kind of refusal which expects a second in- 
vitation. " Having one day," says Bligh, " exposed 
myself too much in the sun, I was taken ill, on which 
all the powerful people, both men and women, col- 
lected round me, offering their assistance. For this 
short illness I was made ample amends by the plear 
sure I received from the attention and appearance 
of affection in these kind people." 

On one occasion the Bounty had nearly gone 
ashore in a tremendous gale of wind, and on another 
did actually get aground ; on both which accidents 
these kind-hearted people came in crowds to con- 
gratulate the captain on her escape ; and many of 
them are stated to have been affected in the most 
lively manner, shedding tears, while the danger in 
which the ship was placed continued. 

On the 9th December the surgeon of the Bounty 
died from the effects of intemperance and indolence. 
This unfortunate man is represented to have been in 
a constant state of intoxication, and was so averse 
from any kind of exercise that he never could be 
prevailed on to take half a dozen hours upon deck 
at a time in the whole course of the voyage. Lieu- 
tenant ]Bligh Jiaql obtained permission to bury him 



THE BREAD-TRUIT. 55 

on shore ; and on going with the chief Tinah to the 
spot intended for his burial-place, " I found," says 
he, " the natives had already begun to dig his grave." 
Tinah asked if they were doing it right. " There," 
says he, " the sun rises, and there it sets." Whether 
the idea of making the grave east and west is their 
.own, or whether they learned it from the Spaniards 
who buried the captain of their ship on the island in 
1774, there were no means of ascertaining; but it 
was certain they had no intimation of that kind from 
anybody belonging to the Bounty. When the fune- 
ral took place the chiefs and many of the natives 
attended the ceremony, and showed great attention 
during the service. Many of the principal natives^ 
attended divine service on Sundays, and behaved" 
with great decency. Some of the women at one 
time betrayed an inclination to laugh at the general 
responses ; but the captain says, on looking at them 
they appeared much ashamed. 

The border of low land, which is of the breadth 
of about three miles between the seacoast and the 
foot of the hills, consists of a very delightful coun- 
try, well covered with bread-fruit and cocoa-trees, 
and strewed with houses in which are swarms of 
children playing about. " It is delightful," Bligh ob- 
serves, " to see the swarms of little children that 
are everywhere to be seen employed at their several 
amusements ; some flying kites, some swinging in 
ropes suspended from the boughs of trees, others 
walking on stilts, some wrestling, and others play- 
ing all manner of antic tricks, such as are common 
to boys in England. The little girls have also their 
amusements, consisting generally of heivahs or 
dances." On an evening, just before sunset, the 
whole beach abreast the ship is described as being 
like a parade, crowded with men, women, and chil- 
dren, who go on with their sports and amusements 
till nearly dark, when every one peaceably returns 
;to his home, At such times, we are told, from three 



56 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

to four hundred people are assembled together, and 
all happily diverted, good-humoured, and affectionate 
to one another, without a single quarrel having ever 
happened to disturb the harmony that existed among 
these amiable people. Both boys and girls are said 
to be handsome and very sprightly. 

It did not appear that much pains were taken in 
their plantations, except those of the ava and the 
cloth-plant ; many of the latter are fenced with stone, 
and surrounded with a ditch. In fact, Nature has 
done so much for them that they have no great oc- 
casion to use exertion in obtaining a sufficient sup- 
ply of either food or raiment. Yet when Bligh com- 
menced taking up the bread-fruit plants he derived 
much assistance from the natives in collecting and 
pruning them, which they understood perfectly well. 

The behaviour of these people on all occasions 
was highly deserving of praise. One morning, at 
the relief of the watch, the small cutter was missing. 
The ship's company were immediately mustered, 
when it appeared that three men were absent. 
They had taken with them eight stand of arms and 
ammunition ; but what their plan was, or which way 
they had gone, no one on board seemed to have the 
least knowledge. Information being given of the 
route they had taken, the master was despatched to 
search for the cutter, and one of the chiefs went with 
him ; but before they had got half-way they met the 
boat with five of the natives, who were bringing her 
back to the ship. For this service they were hand- 
somely rewarded. The chiefs promised to use every 
possible means to detect and bring back the de- 
serters, which in a few days some of the islanders 
had so far accomplished as to seize and bind them, 
but let them loose again on a promise that they 
would return to their ship, which they did not ex* 
actly fulfil, but gave themselves up soon after on a 
search being made for them. 

4 few days after this a much more serious occur- 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 57 

rence happened, that was calculated to give to the 
commander great concern. The wind had blown 
fresh in the night, and at daylight it was discovered 
that the cable by which the ship rode had been cut 
Hear the water's edge in such a manner that only 
one strand remained whole. While they were se- 
curing the ship Tinah came on board ; and though 
there was no reason whatever to suppose otherwise 
than that he was perfectly innocent of the transac- 
tion, nevertheless, says the commander, " I spoke to 
him in a very peremptory manner, and insisted upon 
his discovering and bringing to me the offender. He 
promised to use his utmost endeavours to discover 
the guilty person. The next morning he and his 
wife came to me, and assured me that they had made 
the strictest inquiries without success. This was 
not at all satisfactory, and I behaved towards them 
with great coolness, at which they were much dis- 
tressed; and the lady at length gave vent to her 
sorrow by tears. I could no longer keep up the ap- 
pearance of mistrusting them, but I earnestly recom- 
mended to them, as they valued the King of Eng- 
land's friendship, that they would exert their utmost 
endeavours to find out the offenders, which they 
faithfully promised to do." 

Here Bligh observes, it had since occurred to him 
that this attempt to cut the ship adrift was most 
probably the act of some of his own people, whose 
purpose of remaining at Otaheite might have been 
effectually answered without danger if the ship had 
been driven on shore. At the time it occurred, he 
says, he entertained not the least thought of this 
kind, nor did the possibility of it enter into his ideas, 
having no suspicion that so general an indication or 
so strong an attachment to these islands could pre- 
vail among his people, as to induce them to abandon 
every prospect of returning to their native country. 

This after-thought of Bligh will appear in the se-. 
quel to be wholly gratuitous ; and yet he might natu* 



58 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

rally enough have concluded that so long and unre- 
strained an intercourse with a people among whom 
every man had his tayo or friend, among whom every 
man was free to indulge every wish of his heart, 
where from the moment he set his foot on shore he 
found himself surrounded by female allurements in 
the midst of ease and indolence, and living in a state 
of luxury without submitting to any kind of labour, 
— such enticements to a common sailor might natu- 
rally enough be supposed to create a desire for a 
longer residence in such a country ; but this suppo- 
sition is not borne out by subsequent events. The 
damage done to the cable was, in all probability, 
owing to its chafing over the rocky bottom. 

The Bounty arrived on the 26th October, 1788, 
and remained till the 4th April, 1789. On the 31st 
March, the commander says, " To-day all the plants 
were on board, being in seven hundred and seventy- 
four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and twenty-four boxes. 
The number of bread-fruit plants were one thousand 
and fifteen ; besides which we had collected a num- 
ber of other plants : the avee, which is one of the 
finest flavoured fruits in the world ; the ayyah, which 
is a fruit not so rich, but of a fine flavour, and very 
refreshing; the rattah, not much unlike a chestnut, 
which grows on a large tree in great quantities; 
they are singly, in large pods, from one to two inches 
broad, and may be eaten raw, or boiled in the same 
manner as Windsor beans, and so dressed are equally 
good ; the orai-ab, which is a very superior kind of 
plantain. All these I was particularly recommended 
to collect by my worthy friend Sir Joseph Banks." 
i While these active preparations for departure were 
going on, the good chief Tinah, on bringing a presr 
ent for King George, could not refrain from shedding 
tears. During the remainder of their stay there ap- 
peared among the natives an evident degree of sor? 
row -that they were so soon to leave them, which 
they showed by a more than usual degree of kind- 



THE BREAD-FRUIT. 59 

ness and attention. The above-mentioned excellent 
chief, with his wife, brothers, and sister, requested 
permission to remain on board for the night pre- 
vious to the sailing of the Bounty. The ship was 
crowded the whole day with the natives, and she 
was loaded with presents of cocoanuts, plantains, 
bread-fruits, hogs, and goats. Contrary to what had 
been the usual practice, there was this evening no 
dancing or mirth on the beach, such as they had long 
been accustomed to, but all was silent. 

At sunset the boat returned from landing Tinah 
and his wife, and the ship made sail, bidding farewell 
to Otaheite, where, Bligh observes, "for twenty- 
three weeks we had been treated with the utmost 
affection and regard, and which seemed to increase in 
proportion to our stay. That we were not insensi- 
ble to their kindness the events which followed 
more than sufficiently prove ; for to the friendly and 
endearing behaviour of these people may be ascribed 
the motives for that event which effected the ruin 
of an expedition that there was every reason to 
hope would have been completed in the most fortu- 
nate manner." 

The morning after their departure they got sight 
of Huaheine ; and a double canoe soon coming along- 
side containing ten natives, among them was a young 
man who recollected Captain Bligh, and called him 
by name, having known him when here in the year 
1780 with Captain Cook in the Resolution. Several 
other canoes arrived with hogs, yams, and other 
provisions, which they purchased. This person con- 
firmed the account that had already been received 
of Omai, and said, that of all the animals which had 
been left with Omai, the mare only remained alive ; 
that the seeds and plants had been all destroyed ex- 
cept one tree, but of what kind that was he could 
not satisfactorily explain. A few days after sailing 
from this island the weather became squally, and a 
thick body of black clouds collected in the east* Jit 



60 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

water-spout was in a short time seen at no gre?t 
distance from the ship, which appeared to great ad- 
vantage from the darkness of the clouds behind it. 
The upper part is described as being about two feet 
in diameter, and the lower about eight inches. It 
advanced rapidly towards the ship, when it was 
deemed expedient to niter the course, and to take 
in all the sails except the foresail; soon after 
which it passed within ten yards of the stern, mak- 
ing a rustling noise, but without their feeling the 
least effect from its being so near. The rate at 
which it travelled was judged to be about ten miles 
per hour, going towards the west, in the direction 
of the wind ; and in a quarter of an hour after pass- 
ing the ship it dispersed. As they passed several 
low islands, the natives of one of them came out in 
their canoes, and it was observed that they all spoke 
the language of Otaheite. Presents of iron, beads, 
and a looking-glass were given to them ; but it was 
observed that the chief, on leaving the ship, took 
possession of every thing that had been distributed. 
One of them showed some signs of dissatisfaction $ 
but, after a little altercation, they joined noses and 
were reconciled. 

The Bounty anchored at Anamooka on the 23d 
April; and an old lame man named Tepa, whom 
Bligh had known here in 1777, and immediately 
recollected, came on board, along with others from 
different islands in the vicinity. This man having 
formerly been accustomed to the English manner 
of speaking their language, the commander found he 
could converse with him tolerably well. He told 
him that the cattle which had been left at Tongata- 
boo had all bred, and that the old ones were yet liv- 
ing. Being desirous of seeing the ship, he and his 
companions were taken below, and the bread-fruit 
and other plants were shown to them; on seeing 
which they were greatly surprised. 

**I landed," says Bligh, " in order to procure some 



The bread-fruit. 61 

bread-fruit plants to supply the place of one that was 
dead, and two or three others that were a little 
sickly. I walked to the west part of the bay, where 
some plants and seeds had been sown by Captain 
Cook, and had the satisfaction to see, in a plantation 
close by, about twenty fine pineapple plants, but no 
fruit, this not being the proper season. They told 
me that they had eaten many of them, that they 
were very fine and large, and that at Tongataboo 
there were great numbers." 

Numerous were the marks of mourning with which 
these people disfigure themselves, such as bloody 
temples, their heads deprived of most of the hair, 
and, which was worse, almost all of them with the 
loss of some of their fingers. Several fine boys, not 
above six years of age, had lost both their little 
fingers : and some of the men had parted with the 
middle finger of the right hand. 

A brisk trade soon began to be carried on for 
yams ; some plantains and bread-fruit were likewise 
brought on board, but no hogs. Some of the sailing 
canoes, which arrived in the course of the day, were 
large enough to contain not less than ninety passes 
gers. From these the officers and crew purchased 
hogs, dogs, fowls, and shaddocks ; yams, very fine 
and large ; one of them actually weighed above forty- 
five pounds. The crowd of natives had become so 
great the next day, Sunday 26th, that it became im- 
possible to do any thing. The watering party were 
therefore ordered to go on board, and it was deter- 
mined to sail ; the ship was accordingly unmoored 
and got under way. A grapnel, however, had been 
stolen, and Bligh informed the chiefs that were still 
on board, that unless it was returned they must re- 
main in the ship, at which they were surprised and 
not a little alarmed. " I detained them," he says s 
* till sunset, when their uneasiness and impatience 
increased to such a degree, that they began to beat 
themselves about the face and eyes, and some of 
F 



62 THE BREAD-FRUIT. 

them cried bitterly. As this distress was more than 
the grapnel was worth, I could not think of detain- 
ing them longer, and called their canoes alongside. 
I told them they were at liberty to go, and made 
each of them a present of a hatchet, a saw, with 
some knives, gimblets, and nails. This unexpected 
present, and the sudden change in their situation, 
affected them not less with joy than they had before 
been with apprehension. They were unbounded in 
their acknowledgments ; and I have little doubt but 
that we parted better friends than if the affair had 
never happened." 

From this island the ship stood to the northward 
all night, with light winds ; and on the next day, the 
27th, at noon, they were between the islands Tofoa 
and Kotoo. 

" Thus far," says Bligh, "the voyage had advanced 
in a course of uninterrupted prosperity, and had been 
attended with many circumstances equally pleasing 
and satisfactory. A very different scene was now 
to be experienced. A conspiracy had been formed, 
which was to render all our past labour productive 
only of extreme misery and distress. The means 
had been concerted and prepared with so much 
secrecy and circumspection, that no one circum- 
stance appeared to occasion the smallest suspicion 
of the impending calamity, the result of an act of 
piracy the most consummate and atrocious that was 
probably ever committed." 

How far Bligh was justified in ascribing the 
calamity to a conspiracy will be seen hereafter. 
The following chapter will detail the facts of the 
mutinous proceedings as stated by the lieutenant^ 
in his owii words. 



THE MUTINY. 63 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MUTINY. 

" That, Captain Bligh, that js the thing ; 1 am in hell !— T am in hejl !" 

Fletcher Christian. 

-" Horror and doubt distract 
His troubled thoughts, and from the bottom stir 
The hell within him ; for within him hell 
He brings, and round about him, nor from hell 
One step no more than from himself can fly 
By change of place ; now conscience wakes despair 
That slumber'd, wakes the bitter memory 
Of what he was, what is, and what must be 
Worse ; of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue." 

"In the morning of the 28th April, the north- 
westernmost of the Friendly Islands, called Tofoa, 
bearing north-east, I was steering to the westward, 
with a ship in most perfect order, all my plants in a 
most nourishing condition, all my men and officers 
in good health, and, in short, every thing to flatter 
and ensure my most sanguine expectations. On 
leaving the deck I gave directions for the course to 
be steered during the night. The master had the 
first watch, the gunner the middle watch, and Mr. 
Christian the morning watch. This was the turn 
of duty for the night. 

" Just before sun-rising on Tuesday the 28th, while 
I was yet asleep, Mr. Christian, officer of the watch, 
Charles Churchill, ship's corporal, John Mills, gun- 
ner's mate, and Thomas Burkitt, seaman, came into 
my cabin, and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord 
behind my back, threatening me with instant death 
if I spoke or made the least noise. I called, how- 
ever, as loud as I could, in hopes of assistance ; but 
they had already secured the officers who were not 
of their party, by placing sentinels at their dpors* 



64 THE MUTINY. 

There were three men at my cabin-door, besides the 
four within; Christian had only a cutlass in his 
hand, the others had muskets and bayonets. I was 
hauled out of bed, and forced on deck in my shirt, 
suffering great pain from the tightness with which 
they had tied my hands* [behind my back, held by 
Fletcher Christian, and Charles Churchill, with a 
bayonet at my breast, and two men, Alexander Smith 
and Thomas Burkitt, behind me, with loaded mus* 
kets cocked and bayonets fixed.] I demanded the 
reason of such violence, but received no other an- 
swer than abuse for not holding my tongue. The 
master, the gunner, Mr. Elphinstone the master's 
mate, and Nelson were kept confined below; and 
the fore-hatchway was guarded by sentinels. The 
boatswain and carpenter, and also Mr. Samuel the 
clerk, were allowed to come upon deck, where they 
saw me standing abaft the mizenmast, with my 
hands tied behind my back, under a guard, with 
Christian at their head. The boatswain was ordered 
to hoist the launch out, with a threat, if he did not 
do it instantly, to take care of himself. 

" When the boat was out, Mr. Hayward and Mr. 
Hallet, two of the midshipmen, and Mr. Samuel, 
were ordered into it, I demanded what their inten- 
tion was in giving this order, and endeavoured to 
persuade the people near me not to persist in such 
acts of violence; but it was to no effect^-' Hold 
your tongue, sir, or you are dead this instant,' was 
constantly repeated to me. 

" The master by this time had sent to request that 
he might come on deck, which was permitted ; but 
he was soon ordered back again to his cabin. 

" [When I exerted myself in speaking loud, to try 
if I could rally any with a sense of duty in them, I 

was saluted with—' D — n his eyes, the , blow 

his brains out ;' while Christian was threatening me 
with instant death, if I did not hold my tongue.] 

* The words within brackets are in the original despatch. 



THE MUTINY. 65 

" I continued my endeavours to turn the tide of 
affairs, when Christian changed the cutlass which 
he had in his hand for a bayonet that was brought 
to him, and holding me with a strong gripe by the 
cord that tied my hands, he threatened, with many 
oaths, to kill me immediately, if I w r ould not be 
quiet ; the villains round me had their pieces cocked 
and bayonets fixed. Particular persons were called 
on to go into the boat, and were hurried over the 
side ; whence I concluded that with these people I 
was to be set adrift. I therefore made another effort 
to bring about a change, but with no other effect 
than to be threatened with having my brains blown 
out. 

" The boatswain and seamen who were to go in 
the boat were allowed to collect twine, canvass, 
lines, sails, cordage, an eight- and-twenty gallon cask 
of water ; and Mr. Samuel got one hundred and fifty 
pounds of bread, with a small quantity of rum and 
wine, also a quadrant and compass ; but he was for- 
bidden, on pain of death, to touch either map, ephe- 
meris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, 
timekeeper, or any of my surveys or drawings. 

" The mutineers having forced those of the sea- 
men whom they meant to get rid of into the boat, 
Christian directed a dram to be served to each of 
his own crew. I then unhappily saw that nothing 
could be done to effect the recovery of the ship : 
there was no one to assist me, and every endeavour 
on my part was answered with threats of death. 

" The officers were next called upon deck, and 
forced over the side into the boat, while I was kept 
apart from every one, abaft the mizenmast ; Chris- 
tian, armed with a bayonet, holding me by the ban- 
dage that secured my hands. The guard round me 
had their pieces cocked, but on my daring the un- 
grateful wretches to fire, they uncocked them. 

" Isaac Martin, one of the guard over me, I saw 
had an inclination to assist me, and as he fed me 
F2 



66 THE MUTINY. 

with shaddock (my lips being quite parched) we ex- 
plained our wishes to each other by our looks ; but 
this being observed, Martin was removed from me. 
He then attempted to leave the ship, for which pmv 
pose he got into the boat ; but with many threats 
they obliged him to return. 

" The armourer, Joseph Coleman, and two of the 
carpenters, M'Intosh and Norman, were also kept 
contrary to their inclination; and they begged of 
me, after I was astern in the boat, to remember that 
they declared they had no hand in the transaction. 
Michael Byrne, I am told, likewise wanted to leave 
the ship. 

" It is of no moment for me to recount my endea- 
vours to bring back the offenders to a sense of their 
duty; all I could do was by speaking to them in 
general ; but it was to no purpose, for I was kept 
securely bound, and no one except the guard suffered 
to come near me. 

" To Mr. Samuel (clerk) I am indebted for secu- 
ring my journals and commission, with some mate- 
rial ship papers. Without these I had nothing to 
certify what I had done, and my honour and char- 
acter might have been suspected, without my pos- 
sessing a proper document to have defended them. 
All this he did with great resolution, though guarded 
and strictly watched. He attempted to save the 
timekeeper, and a box with my surveys, drawings, 
and remarks, for fifteen years past, which were 
numerous ; when he was hurried away with ' D — n 
your eyes, you are well off to get what you have.' 

" It appeared to me that Christian was some time 
in doubt whether he should keep the carpenter or 
his mates ; at length he determined on the latter, 
and the carpenter was ordered into the boat. He 
was permitted, but not without some opposition, to 
take his tool-chest. 

"Much altercation took place among the muti- 
nous crew during the whole business ; some swore 



THE MUTINY. 67 

? I'll be d — d if he does not find his way home, if he 
gets any thing with him ;' and when'the carpenter's 
chest was carrying away, ' D — n my eyes, he will 
have a vessel built in a month ;' while others laughed 
at the helpless situation of the boat, being very deep, 
and so little room for those who were in her. As 
for Christian, he seemed as if meditating destruction 
on himself and every one else. 

" I asked for arms, but they laughed at me, and 
said I was well acquainted with the people among 
whom I was going, and therefore did not want them , 
four cutlasses, however, were thrown into the boat 
after we were veered astern. 

"The officers and men being in the boat, they 
only waited for me, of which the master-at-arms 
informed Christian ; who then said, ' Come, Cap- 
tain Bligh, your officers and men are now in the 
boat, and you must go with them ; if you attempt 
to make the least, resistance, you will instantly be 
put to death ;' and without further ceremony, with 
a tribe of armed ruffians about me, I was forced 
over the side, when they untied my hands. Being 
in the boat, we were veered astern by a rope. A 
few pieces of pork were thrown to us, and some 
clothes, also the cutlasses I have already mentioned ; 
and it was then that the armourer and carpenters 
called out to me to remember that they had no hand 
in the transaction. After having undergone a great 
deal of ridicule, and been kept for some time to 
make sport for these unfeeling wretches, we were 
at length cast adrift in the open ocean. 

" I had with me in the boat the following persons j 

Names. Stations. 

John Fryer , Master. 

Thomas' Ledward Acting Surgeon. 

David Nelson Botanist. 

William Peckover Gunner. 

William Cole Boatswain. 

William Purcell Carpenter. 

William Elplunstone Raster's Mate. 



68 THE MUTINY. 

Names. Stations. 

SffSST" 4 ! »«*-»• 

SXLer | Suarter-maste,*, 

Lawrence Lebogue Sailmaker. 

John Smith ) c . 

Thomas Hall J Looks - 

George Simpson Quarter-master's Mate. 

Robert Tinkler A Boy. 

Robert Lamb .J, Butcher. 

Mr. Samuel Clerk. 

In all eighteen. 

There remained in the Bounty :— 

Names. Stations. 

Fletcher Christian. Master's Mate. 

Peter Heywood 1 

Edward Young > Midshipmen. 

George Stewart ) 

Charles Churchill .Master-at-arms. 

i ; John Mills Gunner's Mate. 

. , , James Morrison- • • • Boatswain's Mate. 

Thomas Burkitt 

Matthew Quintal 

John Sumner 

John Mill ward 

William M'Koy 

Henry Hillbrant 

Michael Byrne AM «5 M «ipti- 

William Musprat ' AW 

Alexander Smith 

John Williams 

Thomas Ellison 

Isaac Martin 

Richard Skinner 

Matthew Thompson . 

William Brown Gardener. 

Joseph Coleman Armourer. 

Charles Norman Carpenter's Mate. 

Thomas M'Intosh Carpenter's Crew. 

In all twenty-five— and the most able of the ship's company. 

"Christian, the chief of the mutineers, is of a 
respectable family in the north of England. This 
was the third voyage he had made with me ; and as 
I found it necessary to keep my ship's company at 
three watches, I had given him an order to take 
pharge of the third, his abilities being thoroughly 



THE MUTINY, 69 

equal to the task ; and by this means the master 
and gunner were not at watch and watch. 

" Hey wood is also of a respectable family in the 
north of England,* and a young man of abilities as 
well as Christian. These two had been objects of 
my particular regard and attention, and I had taken 
great pains to instruct them, having entertained 
hopes that, as professional men, they would have 
become a credit to their country. 

" Young was well recommended, and had the 
look of an able, stout seaman; he, however, fell 
short of what his appearance promised. [In the 
account sent home he is thus described : Edward 
Young, midshipman, aged twenty-two years. Dark 
complexion and rather a bad look — strong made — 
has lost several of his fore teeth, and those that 
remain are all rotten.] 

" Stewart was a young man of creditable parents 
in the Orkneys ; at which place, on the return of 
the Resolution from the South Seas, in 1780, we 
received so many civilities that, on that account 
only, I should gladly have taken him with me; but, 
independent of this recommendation, he was a sea- 
man, and had always borne a good character, 

" Notwithstanding the roughness with which I 
was treated, the remembrance of past kindnesses 
produced some signs of remorse in Christian. When 
they were forcing me out of the ship, I asked him 
if this treatment was a proper return for the many 
instances he had received of my friendship ? he ap- 
peared disturbed at my question, and answered, with 
much emotion, " That, Captain Bligh, that is the 
thing ; — I am in hell ,! — I am in hell !" 

" As soon as I had time to reflect, I felt an in- 
ward satisfaction, which prevented any depression 
of my spirits : conscious of my integrity, and anxious 
solicitude for the good of the service in which I had 

* He was born in the Isle of Man, his father being deemster of Man, 
and seneschal to the Duke of Athol. 



70 THE MUTINY. 

been engaged, I found my mind wonderfully sup- 
ported, and I began to conceive hopes, notwithstand- 
ing so heavy a calamity, that I should one day be 
able to account to my king and country for the mis- 
fortune. A few hours before my situation had been 
peculiarly flattering. I had a ship in the most per- 
fect order, and well stored with every necessary 
both for service and health ; by early attention to 
those particulars I had, as much as lay in my power, 
provided against any accident in case I could not 
get through Endeavour Straits, as well as against 
what might befall rne in them ; add to this, the plants 
had been successfully preserved in the most flourish- 
ing state : so that, upon the whole, the voyage was 
two-thirds completed, and the remaining part, to 
all appearance, in a very promising way ; every per^ 
son on board being in perfect health, to establish 
which was ever among the principal objects of my 
attention. 

" It will very naturally be asked, What could be 
the reason for such a revolt 1 In answer to which 
I can only conjecture, that the mutineers had flat- 
tered themselves* with the hopes of a more happy 
life among the Otaheitans than they could possibly 
enjoy in England; and this, joined to some female 
connexions, most probably occasioned the whole 
transaction. The ship, indeed, while within our 
sight, steered to the W. N. W. ; but I considered 
this only as a feint, for when we were sent away, 
' Huzza for Otaheite !' was frequently heard among 
the mutineers. 

" The women of Otaheite are handsome, mild and 
cheerful in their manners and conversation, pos- 
sessed of great sensibility, and have sufficient deli- 
cacy to make them admired and beloved. The 
chiefs were so much attached to our people, that 
they rather encouraged their stay among them than 
Otherwise, and even made them promises of large 
possessions. Under these and many other attend? 



THE MUTINY. 71 

ant circumstances, equally desirable, it is now per 
haps not so much to be wondered at, though scarcely 
possible to have been foreseen, that a set of sailors, 
most of them void of connexions, should be led 
away ; especially when, in addition to such power- 
ful inducements, they imagined it in their power to 
fix themselves in the midst of plenty, on one of the 
finest islands in the world, where they need not 
labour, and where the allurements of dissipation are 
beyond any thing that can be conceived. The ut- 
most, however, that any commander could have 
supposed to have happened is, that some of the peo- 
ple would have been tempted to desert. But if it 
should be asserted that a commander is to guard 
against an act of mutiny and piracy in his own ship, 
more than by the common rules of service, it is as 
much as to say that he must sleep locked up, and 
when awake be girded with pistols. 

" Desertions have happened, more or less, from 
most of the ships that have been at the Society 
Islands ; but it has always been in the commanders' 
power to make the chiefs return their people ; the 
knowledge, therefore, that it was unsafe to desert 
perhaps first led mine to consider with what ease so 
small a ship might be surprised, and that so favour- 
able an opportunity would never offer to them again. 

" The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all con- 
ception. Thirteen of the party, who were with me, 
had always lived forward among 1 the seamen ; yet 
neither they nor the messmates of Christian, Stew- 
art, Hey wood, and Young had ever observed any 
circumstance that made them in the least suspect 
what was going on. To such a Close-planned act 
of villany, my mind being entirely free from any 
suspicion, it is not wonderful that I fell a sacrifice. 
Perhaps, if there had been marines on board, a sen- 
tinel at my cabin-door might have prevented it; for 
I slept with the door always open, that the officer 
Of the watch might have access to me on all occa- 



72 THE MUTINY. 

sions, the possibility of such a conspiracy being ever 
the furthest from my thoughts. Had their mutiny 
been occasioned by any grievances, either real or 
imaginary, I must have discovered symptoms of 
their discontent, which would have put me on my 
guard : but the case was far otherwise. Christian, 
in particular, I was on the most friendly terms with : 
that very day he was engaged to have dined with me ; 
and the preceding night he excused himself from 
supping with me, on pretence of being unwell ; for 
which! felt concerned, having no suspicions of his 
integrity and honour." 

Such is the story published by Lieutenant Bligh 
immediately on his return to England, after one of 
the most distressing and perilous passages over 
nearly four thousand miles of the wide ocean, with 
eighteen persons, in an open boat. The story ob- 
tained implicit credit ; and though Lieutenant Bligh's 
character never stood high in the navy for suavity 
of manners or mildness of temper, he was always 
considered as an excellent seaman, and his veracity 
stood unimpeached. But in this age of refined lib- 
erality, when the most atrocious criminals find their 
apologists, it is not surprising it should now be dis- 
covered, when all are dead that could either prove 
or disprove it, that it was the tyranny of the com- 
mander alone, and not the wickedness of the ring«^ 
leader of the mutineers of the Bounty, that caused 
that event. " We all know," it is said, " that mutiny 
can arise but from one of these two sources, exces- 
sive folly or excessive tyranny; therefore" — the logic 
is admirable — '^as it is admitted that Bligh was no 
idiot, the inference is obvious."* If this be so, it 
may be asked to which of the two causes must be 
ascribed the mutiny at the Nore, &c. ? The true 
answer will be, to neither. " Not only," continues 
the writer, " was the narrative which he published 1 

* United Service Journal for April, 1831i 



THE MUTINY. 73 

proved to be false in many material bearings by evi- 
dence before a court-martial, but every act of his 
public life after this event, from his successive com- 
mand of the Director, the Glatton, and the Warrior, 
to his disgraceful expulsion from New South Wales, 
was stamped with an insolence, an inhumanity, 
and coarseness which fully developed his character." 
There is no intention, in narrating this eventful 
history, to accuse or defend either the character or 
the conduct of the late Admiral Bligh ; it is well 
known his temper was irritable in the extreme; but 
the circumstance of his having been the friend of 
Captain Cook, with whom he sailed as his master, 
— of his ever afterward being patronised by Sir Jo- 
seph Banks — of the Admiralty promoting him to the 
rank of commander, appointing him immediately to 
the Providence, to proceed on the same expedition 
to Otaheite, — and of his returning in a very short 
time to England with complete success, and recom- 
mending all his officers for promotion on account of 
their exemplary conduct ; — of his holding several 
subsequent employments in the service, — of his 
having commanded ships of the line in the battles of 
Copenhagen and Camperdown, — and risen to the 
rank of a flag-officer, — these may perhaps be con- 
sidered to speak something in his favour, and be 
allowed to stand as some proof, that with all his 
failings he had his merits. That he was a man of 
coarse habits, and entertained very mistaken notions 
with regard to discipline, is quite true : yet he had 
many redeeming qualities. The accusation, by the 
writer in question, of Bligh having falsified his " nar- 
rative," is a very heavy charge, and, it is to be feared, 
is not wholly without foundation ; though it would 
perhaps be more correct to say, that in the printed 
narrative of his voyage, and the narrative on which 
the mutineers were tried, there are many important 
omissions from his original manuscript journal, some 
of which it will be necessary to notice presently. 
G 



74 THE MUTINY. 

The same writer further says, " We know that the 
officers fared in every way worse than the men, and 
that even young Hey wood was kept at the masthead 
no less than eight hours at one spell, in the worst 
weather which they encountered off Cape Horn." 

Perhaps Heywood may himself be brought for- 
ward as authority, if not to disprove, at least to ren- 
der highly improbable, his experiencing any such 
treatment on the part of his captain. This young 
officer, in his defence, says, " Captain Bligh in his 
narrative acknowledges that he had left some friends 
on board the Bounty, and no part of my conduct 
could have induced him to believe that I ought not 
to be reckoned of the number. Indeed, from his at- 
tention to, and very kind treatment of me personally,, 
I should have been a monster of depravity to have 
betrayed him. The idea alone is sufficient to dis- 
turb a mind where humanity and gratitude have, I 
hope, ever been noticed as its characteristic fea- 
tures." Bligh, too, has declared in a letter to Hey- 
wood's uncle, Hoi well, after accusing him of ingrati- 
tude, that " he never once had an angry word from 
me during the whole course of the voyage, as his 
conduct always gave me much pleasure and satis- 
faction." 

In looking over a manuscript journal kept by 
Morrison, the boatswain's mate, who was tried and 
convicted as one of the mutineers, but received the 
king's pardon, the conduct of Bligh appears in a very 
unfavourable point of view. This Morrison was a 
person from talent and education far above the situa- 
tion he held in the Bounty ; he had previously served 
in the navy as midshipman, and after his pardon was 
appointed gunner of the Blenheim, in which he 
perished with Sir Thomas Trowbridge. In com- 
paring this journal with other documents, the dates 
and transactions appear to be correctly stated, though 
the latter may occasionally be somewhat too highly 
coloured. How he contrived to preserve this jour- 



The mutiny. 75 

rial in the wreck of the Pandora does not appear ; 
but there can be no doubt of its authenticity, having 
been kept among- the late Captain Hey wood's pa- 
pers; various passages in it have been corrected 
either by this officer or some other person, but with- 
out altering their sense. 

It would appear from this important document 
that the seeds of discord in the unfortunate ship 
Bounty were sown at a very early period of the 
voyage. It happened, as was the case in all small 
vessels, that the duties of commander and purser 
were united in the person of Lieutenant Bligh ; and 
it would seem that this proved the cause of very se- 
rious discontent among the officers and crew ; of 
the mischief arising out of this union the following 
statement of Mr. Morrison may serve as a specimen. 
At Teneriffe, Lieutenant Bligh ordered the cheese to 
be hoisted up and exposed to the air ; which was no 
sooner done than he pretended to miss a certain 
quantity, and declared that it had been stolen. The 
cooper, Henry Hillbrant, informed him that the cask 
in question had been opened by the orders of Mr. 
Samuel, his clerk, who acted also as steward, and 
the cheese sent on shore to his own house, previous 
to the Bounty leaving the river on her way to Ports- 
mouth. Lieutenant Bligh,without making any further 
inquiry, immediately ordered the allowance of that 
article to be stopped, both from officers and men, until 
the deficiency should be made good, and told the 

cooper he should give him a d d good flogging 

if he said another word on the subject. It can 
hardly be supposed that a man of Bligh's shrewd- 
ness, if disposed to play the rogue, would have 
placed himself so completely in the hands of the 
cooper, in a transaction which, if revealed, must 
have cost him his commission. 

Again, on approaching the equator, some decayed 
pumpkins, purchased at Teneriffe, w T ere ordered to 
be issued to the crew, at the rate of one pound of 



76 THE MUTINY. 

pumpkin for two pounds of biscuit. The reluctance 
of the men to accept this proposed substitute on such 
terms being reported to Lieutenant Bligh, he flew 
upon deck in a violent rage, turned the hands up, 
and ordered the first man on the list of each mess to 
be called by name ; at the same time saying, " I'll see 
who will dare to refuse the pumpkin, or any thing else I 
may order to be served out ;" to which he added, " You 

d d infernal scoundrels, I'll make you eat grass, 

or any thing you can catch, before I have done with 
you." This speech had the desired effect, every one 
receiving the pumpkins, even the officers. 

Next comes a complaint respecting the mode of 
issuing beef and pork ; but when a representation 
was made to Lieutenant Bligh in the quiet and or- 
derly manner prescribed by the twenty-first article 
of war, he called the crew aft, told them that every 
thing relative to the provisions was transacted by 
his orders ; that it was therefore needless for them 
to complain, as they would get no redress, he being 
the fittest judge of what was right or wrong, and that 
he would flog the first man who should dare attempt 
to make any complaint in future. To this imperious 
menace they bowed in silence, and not another 
murmur was heard from them during the remainder 
of the voyage to Otaheite, it being their determina- 
tion to seek legal redress on the Bounty's return to 
England. Happy would it have been had they kept 
their resolution. By so doing, if the story be true, 
they would amply have been avenged, a vast num- 
ber of human lives spared, and a world of misery 
avoided. 

According to this journalist, " the seeds of eternal 
discord were sown between Lieutenant Bligh and 
some of his officers" while in Adventure Bay, Van 
Dieman's Land; and on arriving at Matavai Bay, 
in Otaheite, he is accused of taking the officers' 
hogs and bread-fruit, and serving them to the ship's 
company ; and when the master remonstrated with 



THE MUTINY. 77 

him on the subject, he replied, that " he would con- 
vince him that every thing became his as soon as it 
was brought on board; that he would take nine- 
tenths of every man's property, and let him see who 
dared to say any thing to the contrary." The 
sailors' pigs were seized without ceremony, and it 
became a favour for a man to obtain an extra pound 
of his own meat. 

The writer then says, " the object of our visit to 
the Society Islands being at length accomplished, we 
weighed on the 4th April, 1789. Every one seemed 
in high spirits, and began to talk of home, as though 
they had just left Jamaica instead of Otaheite, so far 
onward did their nattering fancies waft them. On 
the 23d we anchored off Annamooka, the inhabitants 
of which island were very rude, and attempted to 
take the casks and axes from the parties sent to fill 
water and cut wood. A musket pointed at them 
produced no other effect than a return of the com- 
pliment, by poising their clubs or spears with men- 
acing looks ; and as it was Lieutenant Bligh's orders 
that no person should affront them on any occasion, 
they were imboldened by meeting with no check to 
their insolence. They at length became so trouble- 
some, that Mr. Christian, who commanded the wa- 
tering party, found it difficult to carry on his duty ; 
but on acquainting Lieutenant Bligh with their be- 
haviour, he received a volley of abuse, was d d 

as a cowardly rascal, and asked if he were afraid of 
naked savages while he had weapons in his hand? 
To this he replied in a respectful manner, "The 
arms are of no effect, sir, while your orders prohibit 
their use." 

This happened but three days before the mutiny, 
and the same circumstance is noticed, but somewhat 
differently, in Bligh's MS. journal, where he says, 
"the men cleared themselves, and they therefore 
merit no punisnment. As to the officers I have no 
resource, nor do I ever feel myself safe in the few 
G2 



78 THE MUTINY. 

instances I trust to them." A perusal of all the 
documents certainly leads to the conclusion that all 
his officers were of a very inferior description ; they 
had no proper feeling of their own situation ; and 
this, together with the contempt in which they were 
held by Bligh, and which he could not disguise, may 
account for that perfect indifference with regard both 
to the captain and the ship which was manifested on 
the day of the mutiny. 

That sad catastrophe, if the writer of the journal 
be correct, was hastened, if not brought about, by 
the following circumstance, of which BUgh takes no 
notice. " In the afternoon of the 27th Lieutenant 
Bligh came upon deck, and missing some of the 
cocoanuts which had been piled up between the 
guns, said they had been stolen, and could not have 
been taken away without the knowledge of the offi- 
cers, all of whom were sent for and questioned on 
the subject. On their declaring that they had not 
seen any of the people touch them, he exclaimed, 
' Then you must have taken them yourselves ;' and 
proceeded to inquire of them separately how many 
they had purchased. On coming to Mr. Christian, 
that gentleman answered, ' I do not know, sir ; but 
I hope you do not think me so mean as to be guilty 
of stealing yours.' Mr. Bligh replied, 'Yes, you 

d d hound, I do — you must have stolen them from 

me, or you would be able to give a better account of 
them ;' then turning to the other officers, he said, 
1 God d — n you, you scoundrels, you are all thieves 
alike, and combine with the men to rob me : I sup- 
pose you will steal my yams next ; but I'll sweat you 
for it, you rascals — I'll make half of you jump over- 
board before you get through Endeavour Straits.' 
This threat was followed by an order to the clerk 
' to stop the villains' grog, and give them but half 
a pound of yams to-morrow ; if they steal them, I'll 
reduce them to a quarter.' " 

It is difficult to believe that an officer in his 



THE MUTINY. 79 

majesty's service could condescend to make use of 
such language to the meanest of the crew, mucft 
less to gentlemen ; it is to be feared, however, that 
there is sufficient ground for the truth of these state- 
ments : with regard to the last, it is borne out by the 
evidence of Mr. Fryer, the master, on the court- 
martial. This officer being asked, " What did you 
suppose to be Mr. Christian's meaning when he said 
he had been in hell for a fortnight f ' answered, 
" From the frequent quarrels they had had, and the 
abuse which he had received from Mr. Bligh." — 
" Had there been any very recent quarrel '?" — " The 
day before, Mr. Bligh challenged all the young gen- 
tlemen and people with stealing his cocoanuts." It 
was on the evening of this day that Lieutenant Bligh, 
according to his printed narrative, says Christian 
was to have supped with him, but excused himself 
on account of being unwell ; and that he was invited 
to dine with him on the day of the mutiny. 

Every one of these circumstances, and many 
others which might be stated from Mr. Morrison's 
journal, are omitted in Bligh's published narrative ; 
but many of them are alluded to in his original jour- 
nal, and others that prove distinctly the constant 
reproofs to which his officers were subject, and the 
bad terms on which they stood with their com- 
mander. A few extracts from this journal will suf- 
ficiently establish this point. 

In so early a part of the voyage as their arrival in 
Adventure Bay, he found fault with his officers, and 
put the carpenter into confinement. Again, at Ma- 
tavai Bay, on the 5th December, Bligh says, "I 
ordered the carpenter to cut a large stone that was 
brought off by one of the natives, requesting me to 
get it made fit for them to grind their hatchets on ; 
but, to my astonishment, he refused, in direct terms, 
to comply, saying, ' I will not cut the stone, for it 
will spoil my chisel ; and though there may be law 
to take away my clothes, there is none to take away 



80 THE MUTINY. 

my tools.' This man having before shown his mu- 
tinous and insolent behaviour, I was under the neces- 
sity of confining him to his cabin." 

On the 5th January three men deserted in the cutter, 
on which occasion Bligh says, " Had the mate of the 
watch been awake, no trouble of this kind would 
have happened. I have therefore disrated and turned 
him before the mast : such neglectful and worthless 
petty officers, I believe, never were in a ship as are 
in this. No orders for a few hours together are 
obeyed by them, and their conduct in general is so 
bad that no confidence or trust can be reposed in 
them ; in short, they have driven me to every thing 
but corporal punishment, and that must follow if 
they do not improve." 

By Morrison's journal it would appear that " cor- 
poral punishment" was not long delayed ; for on the 
very day, he says, the midshipman was put in irons, 
and confined from the 5th January to the 23d March 
— eleven weeks ! 

On the 17th January, orders being given to clear 
out the sail-room and to air the sails, many of them 
were found very much mildewed, and rotten in many 
places, on which he observes, " If I had any officers 
to supersede the master and boatswain, or was 
capable of doing without them, considering them as 
common seamen, they should no longer occupy their 
respective stations; scarcely any neglect of duty 
can equal the criminality of this." 

On the 24th January the three deserters were 
brought back and flogged, then put in irons for fur- 
ther punishment. " As this affair," he says, " was 
solely caused by the neglect of the officers who had 
the watch, I was induced to give them all a lecture 
on this occasion, and endeavour to show them, that 
however exempt they were at present from the like 
punishment, yet they were equally subject, by the 
articles of war, to a condign one." He then tells 
them that it is only necessity that makes him have 



THE MUTINY. 81 

recourse to reprimand, because there are no means 
of trying them by court-martial ; and adds a remark, 
not very intelligible, but what he calls an unpleasant 
one, about such offenders having no feelings of honour 
or sense of shame. 

On the 7th March a native Otaheitan, whom Bligh 
had confined in irons, contrived to break the lock of 
the bilboa-bolt and make his escape. " I had given," 
says Bligh, " a written order that the mate of the 
watch was to be answerable for the prisoners, and 
to visit and see that they were safe in his watch, but 
I have such a neglectful set about me that I believe 
nothing but condign punishment can alter their con- 
duct. Verbal orders, in the course of a month, were 
so forgotten that they would impudently assert no 
such thing or directions were given, and I have been 
at last under the necessity to trouble myself with 
writing what, by decent young officers, would be 
complied with as the common rules of the service. 
Mr. Stewart was the mate of the watch." 

These extracts show the terms on which Bligh was 
with his officers ; and these few instances, with others 
from Morrison's journal, make it pretty clear, that 
though Christian, as fiery and passionate a youth as 
his commander could well be, and with feelings too 
acute to bear the foul and opprobrious language con- 
stantly addressed to him, was the sole instigator of 
the mutiny ; — and that the captain had no support to 
expect, and certainly received none from the rest of 
his officers. That Christian was the sole author 
appears still more strongly from the following pas- 
sage in Morrison's journal. " "When Mr. Bligh found 
he must go into the boat, he begged of Mr. Christian 
to desist, saying, ' I'll pawn my honour, I'll give my 
bond, Mr. Christian, never to think of this if you'll 
desist,' and urged his wife and family ; to which Mr. 
Christian replied, ' No, Captain Bligh, if you had 
any honour, things had not come to this ; and if you 
had any regard for your wife and family, you should 



82 THE MUTINY. 

have thought on them before, and not behaved so 
much like a villain.' Lieutenant Bligh again at- 
tempted to speak, but was ordered to be silent. The 
boatswain also tried to pacify Mr. Christian, to 
whom he replied, ' It is too late ; I have been in hell 
for this fortnight past, and am determined to bear it 
no longer; and you know, Mr. Cole, that I have 
been used like a dog all the voyage.' " 

It is pretty evident, therefore, that the mutiny was 
not, as Bligh in his narrative states it to have been, 
the result of a conspiracy. It will be seen by the 
minutes of the court-martial, that the whole affair 
was planned and executed between the hours of four 
and eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th April, 
when Christian had the watch upon deck ; that Chris- 
tian, unable longer to bear the abusive and insulting 
language, had meditated his own escape from the 
ship the day before, choosing to trust himself to fate 
rather than submit to the constant upbraiding to 
which he had been subject ; but the unfortunate busi- 
ness of the cocoanuts drove him to the commission 
of the rash and felonious act which ended, as such 
criminal acts usually do, in his own destruction and 
that of a great number of others, many of whom 
were wholly innocent. 

Lieutenant Bligh, like most passionate men whose 
unruly tempers get the better of their reason, having 
vented his rage about the cocoanuts, became imme- 
diately calm, and by inviting Christian to sup with 
him the same evening, evidently wished to renew 
their friendly intercourse ; and happy would it have 
been for all parties had he accepted the invitation. 
On the same night, towards ten o'clock, when the 
master had the watch, Bligh came on deck, as was 
his custom, before retiring to sleep. It was one of 
those calm and beautiful nights, so frequent in tropi- 
cal regions, whose soothing influence can be ap- 
preciated only by those who have felt it, when, after 
a scorching day, the air breathes a most refreshing 



THE MUTINY. 83 

coolness, — it was an evening of this sort, when 
Bligh for the last time came upon deck in the capa- 
city of commander; a gentle breeze scarcely rip- 
pled the water, and the moon, then in its first quarter, 
shed its soft light along the surface of the sea. The 
short and quiet conversation that took place between 
Bligh and the master on this evening, after the irrita- 
tion of the morning had subsided only to burst forth 
again in all the horrors of mutiny and piracy, recalls 
to one's recollection that beautiful passage of Shaks- 
peare, where, on the evening of the murder, Dun- 
can, on approaching the castle of Macbeth, observes 
to Banquo — 

" The air . 

Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
Unto our gentle senses," &c— 

a passage which Sir Joshua Reynolds considers as 
a striking instance of what in painting is termed 
repose. " The subject," he says, " of this quiet and 
easy conversation gives that repose so necessary to 
the mind after the tumultuous bustle of the prece- 
ding scenes, and beautifully contrasts the scene of 
terror that immediately succeeds." While on this 
lovely night Bligh and his master were congratu- 
lating themselves on the pleasing prospect of fine 
weather and a full moon to light them through En- 
deavour's dangerous straits, the unhappy and deluded 
Christian was, in all probability, brooding over his 
wrongs, and meditating on the criminal act he was 
to perpetrate the following morning; for he has 
himself stated, that he had just fallen asleep about 
half after three in the morning, and was much out 
of order. 

The evidence on the court-martial is sufficiently 
explicit as to the mode in which this act of piracy 
was committed. By the journal of James Morrison, 
the following is the account of the transaction as 
given by Christian himself to the two midshipmen 



84 THE MUTINY. 

Heywood and Stewart (both of whom had been kept 
below), the moment they were allowed to come upon 
deck, after the boat in which were Bligh and his 
companions had been turned adrift. 

He said, that "finding himself much hurt by the 
treatment he had received from Lieutenant Bligh, 
he had determined to quit the ship the preceding 
evening, and had informed the boatswain, carpenter, 
and two midshipmen (Stewart and Hayward) of his 
intention to do so ; that by them he was supplied 
with part of a roasted pig, some nails, beads, and 
other articles of trade, which he put into a bag that 
was given him by the last-named gentleman ; that 
he put this bag into the clue of Robert Tinkler's ham- 
mock, where it was discovered by that young gen- 
tleman when going to bed at night, but the business 
was smothered, and passed off without any further 
notice. He said he had fastened some staves to a 
stout plank, with which he intended to make his 
escape; but finding he could not effect it during 
the first and middle watches, as the ship had no way 
through the water and the people were all moving 
about, he laid down to rest about half past three in 
the morning; that when Mr. Stewart called him to 
relieve the deck at four o'clock, he had but just fallen 
asleep, and was much out of order ; upon observing 
which Mr. Stewart strenuously advised him to 
abandon his intention ; that as soon as he had taken 
charge of the deck, he saw Mr. Hayward, the mate 
of his watch, lie down on the arm-chest to take a 
nap ; and finding that Mr. Hallet, the other midship- 
man, did not make his appearance, he suddenly 
formed the resolution of seizing the ship. Dis- 
closing his intention to Matthew Quintal and Isaac 
Martin, both of whom had been flogged r>y Lieu- 
tenant Bligh, they called up Charles Churchill, who 
had also tasted the cat, and Matthew Thompson, 
both of whom readily joined in the plot. That 
Alexander Smith {alias John Adams), John Williams, 



THE MUTINY. 85 

and William M'Koy evinced equal willingness, and 
went with Churchill to the armourer, of whom they 
obtained the keys of the arm-chest, under pretence 
of wanting a musket to fire at a shark then along- 
side ; that finding Mr. Hallet asleep on an arm-chest 
in the main-hatchway, they roused and sent him on 
deck. Charles Norman, unconscious of their pro- 
ceedings, had in the mean time awaked Mr. Hay- 
ward and directed his attention to the shark, whose 
movements he was watching at the moment that 
Mr. Christian and his confederates came up the fore- 
hatchway, after having placed arms in the hands of 
several men who were not aware of their design. 
One man, Matthew Thompson, was left in charge 
of the chest, and he served out arms to Thomas 
Burkitt and Robert Lamb. Mr. Christian said he 
then proceeded to secure Lieutenant Bligh, the 
master, gunner, and botanist." 

" When Mr. Christian," observes Morrison, in his 
journal, " related the above circumstances, I recol- 
lected having seen him fasten some staves to a plank 
lying on the larboard gangway, as also having heard 
the boatswain say to the carpenter, ' It will not do 
to-night.' I likewise remembered that Mr. Chris- 
tian had visited the fore-cockpit several times that 
evening, although he had very seldom, if ever, fre- 
quented the warrant-officers' cabins before." 

If this be a correct statement (and the greater 
part of it is borne out by evidence on the court- 
martial), it removes every doubt of Christian being 
the sole instigator of the mutiny, and that no con- 
spiracy nor preconcerted measures had any exist- 
ence, but that it was suddenly conceived by a hot- 
headed young man, in a state of great excitement of 
mind, amounting to a temporary aberration of intel- 
lect, caused by the frequent abusive and insulting 
language of his commanding officer. Waking out 
of a short half-hour's disturbed sleep to take the 
command of the deck, — finding the two mates of the 
H 



86 THE MUTINY. 

watch, Hayward and Hallet, asleep (for which they 
ought to have been dismissed the service instead of 
being, as they were, promoted), — the opportunity 
tempting, and the ship completely in his power, — ■ 
with a momentary impulse he darted down the fore- 
hatchway, got possession of the keys of the arm- 
chest, and made the hazardous experiment of arm- 
ing such of the men as he thought he could trust, 
and effected his purpose. 

There is a passage in Captain Beechey's account 
of Pitcairn's Island, which, if correct, would cast a 
stain on the memory of the unfortunate Stewart, he 
who, if there was one innocent man in the ship, was 
that man. Captain Beechey says, speaking of Chris- 
tian, "His plan, strange as it must appear for a 
young officer to adopt who was fairly advanced in 
an honourable profession, was to set himself adrift 
upon a raft, and make his way to the island (Tofoa) 
then in sight. As quick in the execution as in the 
design, the raft was soon constructed, various use- 
ful articles were got together, and he was on the 
point of launching it, when a young officer who after* 
ward perished in the Pandora, to whom Christian com- 
municated his intention, recommended him, rather 
than risk his life on so hazardous an expedition, to 
endeavour to take possession of the ship, which he 
thought would not be very difficult, as many of the 
ship's company were not well disposed towards the 
commander, and would all be very glad to return to 
Otaheite, and reside among their friends in that 
island. This daring proposition is even more extra- 
ordinary than the premeditated scheme of his com- 
panion, and, if true, certainly relieves Christian from 
part of the odium which has hitherto attached to 
him as the sole instigator of the mutiny." Relieve 
him 1 — not a jot ! But on the best authority it may 
boldly be stated that it is not true ; — the authority 
of Stewart's friend and messmate, the late Captain 
Heywood. 



THE MUTINY. 87 

Captain Beechey, desirous of being correct in his 
statement, very properly sent his chapter on Pit- 
cairn's Island for any observations Captain Heywood 
might have to make on what was said therein re- 
garding the mutiny ; observing in his note which ac- 
companied it, that this account received from Adams 
differed materially from a foot-note in " Marshall's 
Naval Biography ;" to which Captain Heywood re- 
turned the following reply : — 

"5th April, 1830. 

" Dear Sir, — I have perused the account you re- 
ceived from Adams of the mutiny in the Bounty, 
which does indeed differ very materially from a foot- 
note in Marshall's Naval Biography by the editor, to 
whom I verbally detailed the facts, which are strictly 
true. 

" That Christian informed the boatswain and the 
carpenter, Messrs. Hayward and Stewart, of his de- 
termination to leave the ship upon a raft on the night 
preceding the mutiny is certain ; but that any one 
of them (Stewart in particular) should have ' recom- 
mended, rather than risk his life on so hazardous an 
expedition, that he should try the expedient of taking 
the ship from the captain,' &c, is entirely at vari- 
ance with the whole character and conduct of the 
latter, both before and after the mutiny; as well as 
with the assurance of Christian himself the very 
night he quitted Taheite, that the idea of attempting 
to take the ship had never entered his distracted 
mind until the moment he relieved the deck, and 
found his mate and midshipman asleep.* 

"At that last interview with Christian he also 
communicated to me, for the satisfaction of his rela- 
tions, other circumstances connected with that un- 
fortunate disaster, which, after their deaths, may or 
may not be laid before the public. And although 

* Hayward and Hallet, who may thus be considered as the passive 
cause of the mutiny. 



88 THE MUTINY. 

they can implicate none but himself, either living or 
dead, they may extenuate, but will contain not a 
word of his in defence of the crime he committed 
against the laws of his country. 

■'* I am, &c, 

P. Heywood." 

Captain Beechey stated only what he had heard 
from old Adams, who was not always correct in the 
information he gave to the visiters of his island ; 
but this part of his statement gave great pain to 
Heywood, who adverted to it on his deathbed, wish- 
ing, out of regard for Stewart's memory and his 
surviving friends, that it should be publicly contra- 
dicted ; and with this view the above reply of Cap- 
tain Heywood is here inserted. 

The temptations, therefore, which it was supposed 
Otaheite held out to the deluded men of the Bounty 
had no more share in the transaction than the sup- 
posed conspiracy. It does not appear, indeed, that 
the cry of " Huzza for Otaheite !" was ever uttered. 
If this island had been the object of either Christian 
or the crew, they would not have left it three hun- 
dred miles behind them before they perpetrated the 
act of piracy ; but after the deed had been commit- 
ted, it would be natural enough that they should turn 
their minds to the lovely island and its fascinating in- 
habitants which they had but just quitted, and that in 
the moment of excitement some of them should have 
so called out ; but Bligh is the only person who has 
said they did so. 

If, however, the recollection of the " sunny isle" 
and its "smiling women" had really tempted the 
men to mutiny, Bligh would himself not be free 
from blame, for having allowed them to indulge for 
six whole months among this voluptuous and fasci- 
nating people ; for though he was one of the most 
active and anxious commanders of his time, " the 
service," as is observed by a naval officer, " was car* 



THE MUTINY. 89 

ried on in those days in a very different spirit from 
that which regulates its movements now ; otherwise 
the Bounty would never have passed six whole 
months at one island ' stowing away the fruit,' dur- 
ing which time the officers and seamen had free 
access to the shore. Under similar circumstances 
nowadays, if the fruit happened not to be ready, the 
ship would have been off, after ten days' relaxation, 
to survey other islands, or speculate on coral-reefs, 
or make astronomical observations ; in short, to do 
something or other to keep the devil out of the 
heads of the crew."* Bligh would appear to have 
been sensible of this on his next expedition in the 
Providence ; for on that occasion he collected more 
bread-fruit plants than on the former, and spent only 
half the time in doing so. 

Be that as it may, Bligh might naturally enough, 
conclude that the seamen were casting " a lingering 
look behind" towards Otaheite. " If," says Forster, 
who accompanied Cook, " we fairly consider the 
different situations of a common sailor on board the 
Resolution, and of a Taheitan on his island, we can- 
not blame the former if he attempt to rid himself of 
the numberless discomforts of a voyage round the 
world, and prefer an easy life, free from cares, in 
the happiest climate of the world, to the frequent 
vicissitudes which are entailed upon the mariner. 
The most favourable prospects of future success in 
England, which he might form in idea, could never 
be so flattering to his senses as the lowly hope of 
living like the meanest Taheitan. And supposing 
him to escape the misfortunes incident to seamen, 
still he must earn his subsistence in England at the 
expense of labour and ' in the sweat of his brow,' 
when this oldest curse on mankind is scarcely felt 
at Taheite. Two or three bread-fruit trees, which 
grow almost without any culture, and which nourish 

* Quarterly Review, No. 89. 

H2 



90 TH£ MUTINY. 

as long as he himself can expect to live, supply him 
with abundant food during three-fourths of the year. 
The cloth-trees and eddo-roots are cultivated with 
much less trouble than our cabbages and kitchen- 
herbs. The banana, the royal palm, the golden 
apple, all thrive with such luxuriance, and require 
so little trouble, that I may venture to call them 
spontaneous. Most of their days are therefore spent 
in a round of various enjoyments, where Nature has 
lavished many a pleasing landscape ; where the tem- 
perature of the air is warm, but continually refreshed 
by a wholesome breeze from the sea ; and where the 
sky is almost constantly serene. A kind of happy 
uniformity runs through the whole life of the Tahei- 
tans. They rise with the sun, and hasten to rivers 
and fountains to perform an ablution equally reviv- 
ing and cleanly. They pass the morning at work, 
or walk about till the heat of the day increases, when 
they retreat to their dwellings, or repose under some 
tufted tree. There they amuse themselves with 
smoothing their hair, and anoint it with fragrant oils ; 
or they blow the flute, and sing to it, or listen to the 
songs of the birds. At the hour of noon, or a little 
later, they go to dinner. After their meals they re- 
sume their domestic amusements, during which the 
flame of mutual affection spreads in every heart, and 
unites the rising generation with new and tender 
ties. The lively jest without any ill-nature, the art- 
less tale, the jocund dance, and frugal supper bring 
on the evening, and another visit to the river con- 
cludes the actions of the day. Thus contented with 
their simple way of life, and placed in a delightful 
country, they are free from cares and happy in their 
ignorance." 

Such is the picture drawn of the happy people of 
Otaheite by a cold, philosophical German doctor; 
and such, with very little change, Bligh found them. 
As far, however, as the mutiny of his people was 
concerned, we must wholly discard the idea thrown 



THE MUTINY. 91 

©ut by him, that the seductions of Otaheite had any 
share in producing it. It could not have escaped a 
person of Christian's sagacity, that certain inter- 
rogatories would unquestionably be pu'. by the na- 
tives of Otaheite on rinding the ship return so soon 
without her commander, without the bread-fruit 
plants, and with only about half her crew ; questions, 
he knew, to which no satisfactory answer could be 
made ; and though at subsequent periods he twice 
visited that island, it was some time afterward, and 
not from choice, but necessity. His object was to 
find a place of concealment, where he might pass the 
remainder of his days unheard of and unknown, and 
where it is to be hoped he had time for sincere re- 
pentance, the only atonement he could make for the 
commission of a crime which involved so many hu- 
man beings in misery, and brought others to an un- 
timely end But $4 this hereafter. 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

"The boat is lower'd with all the haste of hate, 
With its slight plank between thee and thy fate ; 
Her only cargo such a scant supply 
As promises the death their hands deny ' 
And just enough of water and of bread 
To keep, some days, the dying from the dead ; 
Some cordage, canvass, sails, and lines, and twine, 
But treasures all to hermits of the brine, 
Were added after, to the earnest prayer 
Of those who saw no hope save sea and air; 
And last, that trembling vassal of the Pole, 
The feeling compass, Navigation's soul. 
* * * *• * 

The launch is crowded with the faithful few 
That wait their chief— a melancholy crew : 
But someremain'd reluctant on the deck 
Of that proud vessel, now a moral wreck — 
And view'd their captain's fate with piteous eyes ; 
While others scoff'd his augur'd miseries, 
Sneer'd at the prospect of his pigmy sail, 
And the slight bark, so laden and so frail." 

Christian had intended to send away his captain 
and associates in the cutter, and ordered that it 
should be hoisted out for that purpose, which was 
done — a small wretched boat, that could hold but 
eight or ten men at the most, with a very small ad- 
ditional weight ; and, what was still worse, she was 
so worm-eaten and decayed, especially in the bot- 
tom planks, that the probability was, she would have 
gone down before she had proceeded a mile from the 
ship. In this " rotten carcass of a boat," not unlike 
that into which Prospero and his lovely daughter 
were " hoist," 

" not rigg'd, 
Nor tackle, sail, nor mast ; the very rats 
Instinctively had quit it," 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 93 

did Christian intend to cast adrift his late commander 
and his eighteen innocent companions, or as many 
of them as she would stow, to find, as they inevi- 
tably must have found, a watery grave. But the 
remonstrances of the master, boatswain, and carpen- 
ter prevailed on him to let those unfortunate men 
have the launch, into which nineteen persons were 
thrust, whose weight, together with that of the few 
articles they were permitted to take, brought down 
the boat so near to the water as to endanger her 
sinking with but a moderate swell of the sea — and to 
all human appearance, in no state to survive the 
length of voyage they were destined to perform over 
the wide ocean, but which they did most miracu- 
lously survive. 

The first consideration of Lieutenant Bligh and 
his eighteen unfortunate companions, on being cast 
adrift in their open boat, was to examine the state 
of their resources. The quantity of provisions 
which they found to have been thrown into the boat 
by some few kind-hearted messmates amounted to 
one hundred and fifty pounds of bread, sixteen pieces 
of pork, each weighing two pounds, six quarts of 
rum, six bottles of wine, with twenty-eight gallons 
of water, and four empty barricoes. Being so near 
to the island of Tofoa, it was resolved to seek there 
a supply of bread-fruit and water, to preserve if pos- 
sible the above-mentioned stock entire ; but after 
rowing along the coast, they discovered only some 
cocoanut-trees on the top of high precipices, from 
which, with much danger, owing to the surf, and 
great difficulty in climbing the cliffs, they succeeded 
in obtaining about twenty nuts. The second day 
they made excursions into the island, but without 
success. They met, however, with a few natives, 
who came down with them to the cove where the 
boat was lying; and others presently followed. 
They made inquiries after the ship, and Bligh unfor- 
tunately advised they should say that the ship had 



94 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

overset and sunk, and that they only were saved. The 
story might be innocent, but it was certainly indis- 
creet to put the people in possession of their de- 
fenceless situation ; however, they brought in small 
quantities of bread-fruit, plantains, and cocoanuts, 
but little or no water could be procured. These 
supplies, scanty as they were, served to keep up the 
spirits of the men : " They no longer," says Bligh, 
" regarded me with those anxious looks which had 
constantly been directed towards me since we lost 
sight of the ship : every countenance appeared to 
have a degree of cheerfulness, and ihey all seemed 
determined to do their best." 

The numbers of the natives having so much in- 
creased as to line the whole beach, they began 
knocking stones together, which was known to be 
the preparatory signal for an attack. With some 
difficulty, on account of the surf, our seamen suc- 
ceeded in getting the things that were on shore into 
the boat, together with all the men, except John 
Norton, quarter-master, who was casting off the 
stem-fast. The natives immediately rushed upon 
this poor man, and actually stoned him to death. A 
volley of stones was also discharged at the boat, and 
every one in it was more or less hurt. This induced 
the people to push out to sea with all the speed they 
were able to give to the launch, but to their sur- 
prise and alarm, several canoes filled with stones 
followed close after them and renewed the attack ; 
against which, the only return the unfortunate men 
in the boat could make, was with the stones of the 
assailants that lodged in her, a species of warfare in 
which they were very inferior to the Indians. The 
only expedient left was to tempt the enemy to desist 
from the pursuit, by throwing overboard some 
clothes, which fortunately induced the canoes to 
stop and pick them up ; and night coming on they 
returned to the shore, leaving the party in the boat 
to reflect on their unhappy situation. 



THE OPEN- BOAT NAVIGATION. 95 

The men now entreated their commander to take 
them towards home ; and on being told that no hope 
of relief could be entertained till they reached Timor, 
a distance of full twelve hundred leagues, they all 
readily agreed to be content with an allowance, 
which, on calculation of their resources, the com- 
mander informed them would not exceed one ounce 
of bread and a quarter of a pint of water per day. 
Recommending- them, therefore, in the most solemn 
manner, not to depart from their promise in this re- 
spect, " we bore away," says Bligh, " across a sea 
where the navigation is but little known, in a small 
boat, twenty-three feet long from stem to stern, 
deeply laden with eighteen men. I was happy, how- 
ever, to see that every one seemed better satisfied 
with our situation than myself. It was about eight 
o'clock at night on the 2d May when we bore away 
under a reefed lug-foresail ; and having divided the 
people into watches, and got the boat into a little 
order, we returned thanks to God for our miraculous 
preservation, and in full confidence of his gracious 
support, I found my mind more at ease than it had 
been for some time past." 

At daybreak on the 3d, the forlorn and almost 
hopeless navigators saw with alarm the sun to rise 
fiery and red, — a sure indication of a severe gale of 
wind ; and accordingly, at eight o'clock it blew a 
violent storm, and the sea ran so very high, that the 
sail was becalmed when between the seas, and too 
much to have set when on the top of the sea ; yet it 
is stated that they could not venture to take it in, 
as they were in very imminent danger and distress, 
the sea curling over the stern of the boat, and 
obliging them to bale with all their might. " A situa- 
tion," observes the commander, " more distressing 
has perhaps, seldom been experienced." 

The bread, being in bags, was in the greatest dan- 
ger of being spoiled by the wet, the consequence of 
which, if not prevented, must have been fatal, as the 



96 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

whole party would inevitably be starved to death, if 
they should fortunately escape the fury of the 
waves. It was determined, therefore, that all super- 
fluous clothes, with some rope and spare sails, 
should be thrown overboard, by which the boat was 
considerably lightened. The carpenter's tool-chest 
was cleared, and the tools stowed in the bottom of 
the boat, and the bread secured in the chest. All 
the people being thoroughly wet and cold, a tea- 
spoonful of rum was served out to each person, with 
a quarter of a bread-fruit, which is stated to have 
been scarcely eatable, for dinner ; Bligh having de- 
termined to preserve sacredly, and at the peril of his 
life, the engagement they entered into, and to make 
their small stock of provisions last eight weeks, let 
the daily proportion be ever so small. 

The sea continuing to run even higher than in the 
morning, the fatigue of bailing became very great ; 
the boat was necessarily kept before the sea. The 
men were constantly wet, the night very cold, and 
at daylight their limbs were so benumbed that they 
could scarcely find the use of them. At this time a 
tea-spoonful of rum served out to each person was 
found of great benefit to all. Five small cocoanuts 
were distributed for dinner, and every one was satis- 
fied; and in the evening a few broken pieces of 
bread-fruit were served for supper, after which 
prayers were performed. 

On the night of the 4th and morning of the 5th 
the gale had abated ; the first step to be taken was 
to examine the state of the bread, a great part of 
which was found to be damaged and rotten — but 
even this was carefully preserved for use. The boat 
was now running among some islands, but after their 
reception at Tofoa, they did not venture to land. On 
the 6th they still continued to see islands at a dis- 
tance ; and this day, for the first time, they hooked 
a fish, to their great joy ; " but," says the commander, 
" we were miserably disappointed by its being lost in 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 97 

trying to get it into the boat." In the evening each 
person had an ounce of the damaged bread, and a 
quarter of a pint of water for supper. 

Lieutenant Bligh observes, " It will readily be sup- 
posed our lodgings were very miserable, and con- 
fined for want of room ;" but he endeavoured to 
remedy the latter defect by putting themselves at 
watch and watch ; so that one half always sat up, 
while the other lay down on the boat's bottom, or 
upon a chest, but with nothing to cover them ex- 
cept the heavens. Their limbs, he says, were dread- 
fully cramped, for they could not stretch them out; 
and the nights were so cold, and they were so con- 
stantly wet, that after a few hours' sleep, they were 
scarcely able to move. At dawn of day on the 7th, 
being very wet and cold, he says, " I served a spoon- 
ful of rum and a morsel of bread for breakfast." 

In the course of this day they passed close to 
some rocky isles, from which two large sailing- 
canoes came swiftly after them, but in the afternoon 
gave over the chase. They were of the same con- 
struction as those of the Friendly Islands, and if 
land seen for the last two days was supposed to bt 
the Fejee Islands. But being constantly wet, Bligh 
says, " It is with the utmost difficulty I can open a 
book to write, and I feel truly sensible I can do no 
more than point out where these lands are to be 
found, and give some iuea of their extent." Heavy 
rain came on in the afternoon, when every person in 
the boat did his utmost to catch some water, and 
thus succeeded in increasing their stock to thirty- 
four gallons, besides quenching their thirst for the 
first time they had been able to do so since they had 
been at sea : but it seems an attendant consequence 
of the heavy rain caused them to pass the night very 
miserably ; for being extremely wet, and having no 
dry things to shift or cover themselves, they expe- 
rienced cold and shiverings scarcely to be conceived. 

On the 8th, the allowance issued was an ounce and 
I 



98 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

a half of pork, a tea-spoonful of rum, half a pint of 
cocoanut milk, and an ounce of bread. The rum, 
though so small in quantity, is stated to have been 
of the greatest service. In the afternoon they were 
employed in cleaning out the boat, which occupied 
them until sunset before they got every thing dry 
and in order. " Hitherto," Bligh says, " I had issued 
the allowance by guess, but I now made a pair of 
scales with two cocoanut shells ; and having acci- 
dentally some pistol-balls in the boat, twenty-five of 
which weighed one pound, or sixteen ounces, I 
adopted one of these balls as the proportion of 
weight that each person should receive of bread at 
the times I served it. I also amused all hands with 
describing the situations of New-Guinea and New- 
Holland, and gave them every information in my 
power, that in case any accident should happen to 
me, those who survived might have some idea of 
what they were about, and be able to find their way 
to Timor, which at present they knew nothing of 
more than the name, and some not even that. At 
night I served a quarter of a pint of water and half 
an ounce of bread for supper. 

On the morning of the 9th, a quarter of a pint of 
cocoanut milk and some of the decayed bread were 
served for breakfast ; and for dinner, the kernels of 
four cocoanuts, with the remainder of the rotten 
bread, which, he says, was eatable only by such dis- 
tressed people as themselves. A storm of thunder 
and lightning gave them about twenty gallons of 
water. " Being miserably wet and cold, I served to 
the people a tea-spoonful of rum each, to enable 
them to bear with their distressing situation. The 
weather continued extremely bad, and the wind in- 
creased ; we spent a very miserable night, without 
sleep, except such as could be got in the midst of 
rain." 

The following day, the 10th, brought no relief, 
except that of its light. The sea broke over the 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 99 

boat so much, that two men were kept constantly 
bailing ; and it was necessary to keep the boat before 
the waves for fear of its filling. The allowance 
now served regularly to each person was one 
twenty-fifth part of a pound of bread and a quarter 
of a pint of water, at eight in the morning, at noon, 
and at sunset. To-day was added about half an 
ounce of pork for dinner, which, though any mode- 
rate person would have considered only as a 
mouthful, was divided into three or four. 

The morning of the 11th did not improve. "At 
daybreak I served to every person a tea-spoonful of 
rum, our limbs being so much cramped that we could 
scarcely move them. Our situation was now ex- 
tremely dangerous, the sea frequently running over 
our stern, which kept us bailing with all our strength. 
At noon the sun appeared, which gave us as much 
pleasure as is felt when it shows itself on a winter's 
day in England. 

" In the evening of the 12th it still rained hard, 
and we again experienced a dreadful night. At 
length the day came, and showed a miserable set of 
beings, full of wants, without any thing to relieve 
them. Some complained of great pain in their 
bowels, and every one of having almost lost the use 
of his limbs. The little sleep we got was in no way 
refreshing, as we were constantly covered with the 
sea and rain. The weather continuing, and no sun 
affording the least prospect of getting our clothes 
dried, I recommended to every one to strip and 
wring them through the sea-water, by which means 
they received a warmth that, while wet with rain- 
water, they could not have." The shipping of seas 
and constant bailing continued ; and though the men 
were shivering with wet and cold, the commander 
was under the necessity of informing them, that he 
could no longer afford them the comfort they had 
derived from the tea-spoonful of rum. 

On the 13th and 14th the stormy weather and 



100 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

heavy sea continued unabated, and on these days 
they saw distant land, and passed several islands. 
The sight of these islands, it may well be supposed, 
served only to increase the misery of their situation. 
They were as men very little better than starving 
with plenty in their view ; yet, to attempt procuring 
any relief was considered to be attended with so 
much danger, that the prolongation of life, even in 
the midst of misery, was thought preferable, while 
there remained hopes of being able to surmount 
their hardships. 

The whole day and night of the 15th were still 
rainy ; the latter was dark, not a star to be seen by 
which the steerage could be directed, and the sea 
was continually breaking over the boat. On the 
next day, the 16th, was issued for dinner an ounce 
of salt pork, in addition to their miserable allowance 
of one twenty-fifth part of a pound of bread. The 
night was again truly horrible, with storms of 
thunder, lightning, and rain ; not a star visible, so 
that the steerage was quite uncertain. 

On the morning of the 17th, at dawn of day, "1 
found," says the commander, " every person com- 
plaining, and some of them solicited extra allowance, 
which I positively refused. Our situation -was 
miserable ; always wet, and suffering extreme cold 
in the night, without the least shelter from the 
weather. The little ram we had was of the greatest 
service : when our nights were particularly distress- 
ing, I generally served a tea-spoonful or two to 
each person, and it was always joyful tidings when 
they heard of my intentions. The night was again 
a dark and dismal one, the sea constantly breaking 
over us, and nothing but the wind and waves to 
direct our steerage. It was my intention, if pos- 
sible, to make the coast of New-Holland to the 
southward of Endeavour Straits, being sensible that 
it was necessary to preserve such a situation as 
would make a southerly wind a fair one ; that we 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 101 

might range along the reefs till an opening should be 
found into smooth water, and we the sooner be able 
to pick up some refreshments." 

On the 18th the rain abated, when, at their com- 
mander's recommendation, they all stripped and 
wrung their clothes through the sea-water, from 
which, as usual, they derived much warmth and re- 
freshment; but every one complained of violent 
pains in their bones. At night the heavy rain re- 
commenced, with severe lightning, which obliged 
them to keep bailing without intermission. The 
same weather continued through the 19th and 20th ; 
the rain constant — at times a deluge — the men al- 
ways bailing; the commander, too, found it neces- 
sary to issue for dinner only half an ounce of pork. 

At dawn of day, Lieutenant Bligh states, that 
some of his people seemed half-dead ; that their ap- 
pearances were horrible ; " and I could look," says 
he, " no way, but I caught the eye of some one in 
distress. Extreme hunger was now too evident, but 
no one suffered from thirst, nor had we much incli- 
nation to drink, that desire perhaps being satisfied 
through the skin. The little sleep we got was in 
the midst of water, and we constantly awoke with 
severe cramps and pains in our bones. At noon the 
sun broke out and revived every one. 

"During the whole of the afternoon of the 21st 
we were so covered with rain and salt water, that 
we could scarcely see. We suffered extreme cold, 
and every one dreaded the approach of night. 
Sleep, though we longed for it, afforded no comfort ; 
for my own part, I almost lived without it. On the 
22d our situation was extremely calamitous. We 
were obliged to take the course of the sea, running 
right before it, and watching with the utmost care, 
as the least error in the helm would in a moment 
have been our destruction. It continued through 
the day to blow hard, and the foam of the sea kept 
running over our stern and quarters,. 
I 3 



102 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

" The misery we suffered this night exceeded the 
preceding. The sea flew over us with great force, 
and kept us bailing with horror and anxiety. At 
dawn of day I found every one in a most distressed 
condition, and I began to fear that another such 
night would put an end to the lives of several, who 
seemed no longer able to support their sufferings 
I served an allowance of two tea-spoonfuls of rum ; 
after drinking which, and having wrung our clothes 
and taken our breakfast of bread and water, we be- 
came a little refreshed. 

" On the evening of the 24th, the wind moderated 
and the weather looked much better, which rejoiced 
all hands, so that they ate their scanty allowance 
with more satisfaction than for some time past. 
The night also was fair ; but being always wet with 
the sea, we suffered much from the cold. I had the 
pleasure to see a fine morning'produce some cheerful 
countenances ; and for the first time during the last 
fifteen days we experienced comfort from the 
warmth of the sun. We stripped and hung up our 
clothes to dry, which were by this time become so 
threadbare, that they could not keep out either wet 
or cold. In the afternoon we had many birds about 
us, which are never seen far from land, such as 
boobies and noddies." 

As the sea now began to run fair, and the boat 
shipped but little water, Lieutenant Bligh took the 
opportunity to examine into the state of their 
bread ; and it was found that, according to the pres- 
ent mode of living, there was a sufficient quantity 
remaining for twenty-nine days' allowance, by which 
time there was every reason to expect they would 
be able to reach Timor. But as this was still un- 
certain, and it was possible that, after all, they might 
be obliged to go to Java, it was determined to pro- 
portion the allowance, so as to make the stock hold 
out six weeks. "I was apprehensive," he says, 
" that this would be ill received, and that it would 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 103 

lequire my utmost resolution to enforce it; for, 
small as the quantity was which I intended to take 
away for our future good, yet it might appear to my 
people like robbing them of life ; and some who 
were less patient than their companions, I expected 
would very ill brook it. However, on my repre- 
senting the necessity of guarding against delays that 
might be occasioned by contrary winds, or other 
causes, and promising to enlarge upon the allowance 
as we got on, they cheerfully agreed to my pro- 
posal." It was accordingly settled that every person 
should receive one twenty-fifth part of a pound of 
bread for breakfast, and the same quantity for dinner 
as usual, but that the proportion for supper should 
be discontinued ; this arrangement left them forty- 
three days' consumption. 

On the 25th, about noon, some noddies came so 
near to the boat that one of them was caught by 
hand. This bird was about the size of a small pigeon. 
" I divided it," says Bligh, " with its entrails, into 
eighteen portions, and by a well-known method at 
sea, of ' Who shall have this ?'* it was distributed, 
with the allowance of bread and water for dinner, 
and eaten up, bones and all, with salt water for sauce. 
In the evening, several boobies flying near to us, we 
had the good fortune to catch one of them. This 
bird is as large as a duck. They are the most 
presumptive proof of being near land of any sea- 
fowl we are acquainted with. I directed the bird to 
be killed for supper, and the blood to be given to 
three of the people who were the most distressed 
for want of food. The body, with the entrails, beak, 
and feet, I divided into eighteen shares, and with the 
allowance of bread, which I made a merit of 

* One person turns his back on the object that is to be divided; 
another then points separately to the portions, at each of them asking 
aloud, "Who shall have this 7" to which the first answers by naming 
somebody. This impartial method of distribution gives every man an 
equal chance of the best share. Bligh used to speak of the great amuse- 
ment the poor people had at the beak and claws falling to his share. 



104 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

granting-, we made a good supper compared with our 
usuai fare. 

" On the next day, the 26th, we caught another 
booby, so that Providence appeared to be relieving 
our wants in an extraordinaiy manner. The people 
were overjoyed at this addition to their dinner, 
which was distributed in the same manner as on the 
preceding evening; giving the blood to those who 
were the most in want of food. To make the bread 
a little savoury, most of the men frequently dipped 
it in salt water, but I generally broke mine into 
small pieces, and ate it in my allowance of water, 
out of a cocoanut shell, with a spoon; economically 
avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, so that I 
was as long at dinner as if it had been a much more 
plentiful meal." 

The weather was now serene, which, neverthe- 
less, was not without its inconveniences, for, it 
appears, they began to feel distress of a different 
kind from that which they had hitherto been accus- 
tomed to suffer. The heat of the sun was now so 
powerful, that several of the people were seized 
with a languor and faintness, which made life indif- 
ferent. But the little circumstance of catching two 
boobies in the evening, trifling as it may appear, had 
the effect of raising their spirits. The stomachs of 
these birds contained several flying-fish, and small 
cuttle-fish, all of which were carefully saved to be 
divided for dinner the next day; which were ac- 
cordingly divided, with their entrails and the con- 
tents of their maws, into eighteen portions, and, as 
the prize was a very valuable one, it was distributed 
as before, by calling out, " Who shall have this?" — 
"so that to-day," says the lieutenant, "with the 
usual allowance of bread at breakfast and at dinner, 
I was happy to see that every person thought he 
had feasted." From the appearance of the clouds 
in the evening, Mr. Bligh had no doubt they were 
then near the land, and the^eople amused themselves 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 105 

with conversing on the probability of what they 
would meet with on it. 

Accordingly, at one in the morning of the 28th, 
the person at the helm heard the sound of breakers. 
It was the "barrier reef" which runs along the 
eastern coast of New-Holland, through which it 
now became the anxious object to discover a pas- 
sage ; Mr. Bligh says this was now become abso- 
lutely necessary, without a moment's loss of time. 
The idea of getting into smooth water and finding 
refreshments kept up the people's spirits. The sea 
broke furiously over the reef in every part ; within, 
the water was so smooth and calm that every man 
already anticipated the heartfelt satisfaction he was 
about to receive, as soon as he should have passed 
the barrier. At length a break in the reef was dis- 
covered, a quarter of a mile in width, and through 
this the boat rapidly passed with a strong stream 
running to the westward, and came immediately into 
smooth water, and all the past hardships seemed at 
once to be forgotten. 

They now returned thanks to God for his generous 
protection, and with much content took their misera- 
ble allowance of the twenty-fifth part of a pound of 
bread and a quarter of a pint of water for dinner. 

The coast now began to show itself very distinctly, 
and in the evening they landed on the sandy point 
of an island, when it was soon discovered there were 
oysters on the rocks, it being low water. The party 
sent out to reconnoitre returned highly rejoiced at 
having found plenty of oysters and fresh water. By 
help of a small magnifying glass a fire was made, 
and among the things that had been thrown into the 
boat was a tinderbox and a piece of brimstone, so 
that in future they had the ready means of making a 
fire. One of the men, too, had been so provident as 
to bring away with him from the ship a copper-pot ; 
and thus with a mixture of oysters, bread, and pork, 
a stew was made, of which each person received a 



106 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

full pint. It is remarked that the oysters grew so 
fast to the rocks, that it was with great difficulty 
they could be broken off; but they at length dis- 
covered it to be the most expeditious way to open 
them where they were fixed. 

The general complaints among the people were a 
dizziness in the head, great weakness in the joints, 
and violent tenesmus, but none of them are stated 
to have been alarming ; and notwithstanding their 
sufferings from cold and hunger, all of them retained 
marks of strength. Mr. Bligh had cautioned them 
not to touch any kind of berry or fruit that they 
might find ; yet it appears they were no sooner out 
of sight than they began to make free with three 
different kinds that grew all over the island, eating 
without any reserve. The symptoms of having eaten 
too much began at last to frighten some of them ; 
they fancied they were all poisoned, and regarded 
each other with the strongest marks of apprehen- 
sion, uncertain what might be the issue of their im- 
prudence : fortunately the fruit proved to be whole- 
some and good. 

"This day (29th May) being," says Lieutenant 
Bligh, " the anniversary of the restoration of King 
Charles II., and the name not being inapplicable to 
our present situation (for we were restored to fresh 
life and strength), I named this 'Restoration Island;' 
for I thought it probable that Captain Cook might 
not have taken notice of it." 

With oysters and palm-tops stewed together the 
people now made excellent meals, without con- 
suming any of their bread. In the morning of the 
30th Mr. Bligh saw with great delight a visible 
alteration in the men for the better, and he sent them 
away to gather oysters, in order to carry a stock of 
them to sea, for he determined to put off again that 
evening. They also procured fresh water, and filled 
all their vessels to the amount of nearly sixty gal- 
lons. On examining the bread, it was found there 
still remained about thirty-ei&ht days 1 allowance. 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 107 

Being- now ready for sea, every person was or- 
dered to attend prayers ; but just as they were em- 
barking, about twenty naked savages made their ap- 
pearance, running and hallooing, and beckoning the 
strangers to come to them ; but as each was armed 
with a spear or lance, it was thought prudent to 
hold no communication with them. They now pro- 
ceeded to the northward, having the continent on 
their left, and several islands and reefs on their right. 

On the 31st they landed on one of these islands, 
to which was given the name of " Sunday." " I 
sent out two parties," says Bligh, " one to the north- 
ward and the other to the southward, to seek for 
supplies, and others I ordered to stay by the boat. 
On this occasion fatigue and weakness so far got the 
better of their sense of duty, that some of the people 
expressed their discontent at having worked harder 
than their companions, and declared that they would 
rather be without their dinner than go in search of 
it. One person in particular went so far as to tell 
me with a mutinous look, that he was as good a man 
as myself. It was not possible for one to judge 
where this might have an end, if not stopped in time ; 
to prevent, therefore, such disputes in future, I deter- 
mined either to preserve my command or die in the 
attempt ; and seizing a cutlass, I ordered him to lay 
hold of another and defend himself; on which he 
called out that I was going to kill him, and imme- 
diately made concessions. I did not allow this to 
interfere further with the harmony of the boat's 
crew, and every thing soon became quiet." 

On this island they obtained oysters, and clams, 
and dogfish ; also a small bean, which Nelson, the 
botanist, pronounced to be a species of dolichos. On 
the 1st of June they stopped in the midst of some 
sandy islands, such as are known by the name of 
keys, where they procured a few clams and beans. 
Here Nelson was taken very ill with a violent heat 
in his bowels, a loss of sight, great thirst, and an in- 



108 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

ability to walk. A little wine, which had carefully 
been saved, with some pieces of bread soaked in it, 
was given to him in small quantities, and he soon 
began to recover. The boatswain and carpenter 
were also ill, and complained of headache and sick- 
ness of the stomach. Others became shockingly 
distressed with tenesmus ; in fact, there were few 
without complaints. 

A party was sent out by night to catch birds ; 
they returned with only twelve noddies, but it is 
stated, that had it not been for the folly and obsti- 
nacy of one of the party, who separated from the 
others and disturbed the birds, a great many more 
might have been taken. The offender was Robert 
Lamb, who acknowledged, when he got to Java, 
that he had that night eaten nine raw birds, after he 
separated from his two companions. The birds, 
with a few clams, were the whole of the supplies 
afforded at these small islands. 

On the 3d of June, after passing several keys and 
islands, and doubling Cape York, the north-eastern- 
most point of New-Holland, at eight in the evening 
the little boat and her brave crew once more launched 
into the open ocean. " Miserable," says Lieutenant 
Bligh, " as our situation was in every respect, I was 
secretly surprised to see that it did not appear to 
affect any one so strongly as myself; on the con- 
trary, it seemed as if they had embarked on a voy- 
age to Timor in a vessel sufficiently calculated for 
safety and convenience. So much confidence gave 
me great pleasure, and I may venture to assert that 
to this cause our preservation is chiefly to be attri- 
buted. I encouraged every one with hopes that 
eight or ten days would bring us to a land of safety ; 
and, after praying to God for a continuance of his 
most gracious protection, I served out an allowance 
of water for supper, and directed our course to the 
west-south-west. 

" We had been just six days on the coast of New- 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 109 

Holland, in the course of which we found oysters, 
a few clams, some birds, and water. But a benefit 
probably not less than this was that of being re* 
lieved from the fatigue of sitting constantly in the 
boat, and enjoying good rest at night. These ad- 
vantages certainly preserved our lives ; and small as 
the supply was* I am very sensible how much it al- 
leviated our distresses. Before this time nature must 
have sunk under the extremes of hunger and fatigue* 
Even in our present situation, we were most de- 
plorable objects, but the hopes of a speedy relief 
kept up our spirits. For my own part, incredible as 
it may appear, I felt neither extreme hunger nor 
thirst. My allowance contented me, knowing that 
I could have no more." In his manuscript journal, 
he adds, " This, perhaps, does not permit me to be 
a proper judge on a story of miserable people like us 
being at last driven to the necessity of destroying 
one another for food ; but, if I may be allowed, I 
deny the fact in its greatest extent. I say, I do not 
believe that among us such a thing could happen, 
but death through famine would be received in the 
same way as any mortal disease.''* 

On the 5th a booby was caught by the hand, the 
blood of which was divided among three of the 
men who were weakest, and the bird kept for next 
day's dinner ; and on the evening of the 6th the al- 
lowance for supper was recommenced, according to 
a promise made when it had been discontinued* 
On the 7th, after a miserably wet and cold night, 
nothing more could be afforded than the usual al- 
lowance for breakfast \ but at dinner each person 

* if Bligh here meant to deny the fact of men in extreme eases de- 
stroying each other for the sake of appeasing hunger, he is greatly mis- 
taken. The fact was but too well established, and to a great extent, on 
the raft of the French frigate Meduse, when wrecked on the coast of 4 
Africa, and also on the rock in the Mediterranean, when the Nautilus* 
frigate was lost. There may be a difference between men in danger of 
perishing by famine when in robust health, and men like those of the 
Bounty, worn by degrees to skeletons by protracted famine, who maj 
thus have become equally indifferent to life or death 



110 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

had the luxury of an ounce of dried clams, which 
consumed all that remained. The sea was running 
high and breaking over the boat the whole of this 
day. Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, and Lawrence Le- 
bogue, an old hardy seaman, appeared to be giving 
way very fast. No other assistance could be given 
to them than a tea-spoonful or two of wine, that had 
been carefully saved for such a melancholy occasion, 
which was not at all unexpected. 

On the 8th the weather was more moderate, and 
a small dolphin was caught, which gave about two 
ounces to each man : in the night it again blew 
strong, the boat shipped much water, and they all 
suffered greatly from wet and cold. The surgeon 
and Lebogue still continued very ill, and the only 
relief that could be afforded them was a small quan- 
tity of wine, and encouraging them with the hope 
that a very few days more, at the rate they were 
then sailing, would bring them to Timor. 

" In the morning of the 10th, after a very comfort- 
less night, there was a visible alteration for the 
worse," says Mr. Bligh, "in many of the people, 
which gave me great apprehensions. An extreme 
weakness, swelled legs, hollow and ghastly counte- 
nances, a more than common inclination to sleep, 
with an apparent debility of understanding, seemed 
to me the melancholy presages of an approaching 
dissolution. The surgeon and Lebogue, in particu- 
lar, were most miserable objects. I occasionally 
gave them a few tea-spoonfuls of wine out of the 
little that remained, which greatly assisted them, 
The hopes of being able to accomplish the voyage 
was our principal support. The boatswain very in- 
nocently told me that he really thought I looked 
worse than any in the boat. The simplicity with 
which he uttered such an opinion amused me, and I 
returned him a better compliment." 

On the 11th Lieutenant Bligh announced to his 
wretched companions that he had no doubt they had 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. HI 

now passed the meridian of the eastern part of 
Timor, a piece of intelligence that diffused universal 
joy and satisfaction. Accordingly, at three in the 
morning of the following day Timor was discovered 
at the distance only of. two leagues from the shore. 

" It is not possible for me," says this experienced 
navigator, " to describe the pleasure which the 
blessing of the sight of this land diffused among us. 
It appeared scarcely credible to ourselves, that in 
an open boat, and so poorly provided, we should 
have been able to reach the coast of Timor in forty- 
one days after leaving Tofoa, having in that time run 
by our log a distance of three thousand six hundred 
and eighteen nautical miles ; and that, notwithstand- 
ing our extreme distress, no one should have perished 
in the voyage." 

On Sunday the 14th they came safely to anchor in 
Coupang Bay, where they were received with every 
mark of kindness, hospitality, and humanity. The 
houses of the principal people were thrown open for 
their reception. The poor sufferers when landed 
were scarcely able to walk ; their condition is de- 
scribed as most deplorable. " The abilities of a 
painter could rarely, perhaps, have been displayed to 
more advantage than in the delineation of the two 
groups of figures which at this time presented them- 
selves to each other. An indifferent spectator, if 
such could be found, would have been at a loss which 
most to admire, the eyes of famine sparkling at im- 
mediate relief, or the horror of their preservers at 
the sight of so many spectres, whose ghastly counte- 
nances, if the cause had been unknown, would rather 
have excited terror than pity. Our bodies were 
nothing but skin and bones, our limbs were full of 
sores, and we were clothed in rags ; in this con- 
dition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flowing 
down our cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us 
with a mixture of horror, surprise, and pity. 

u When," continues the commander, " I reflect 



112 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

how providentially our lives were saved at Tofoa, 
by the Indians delaying their attack ; and that, with 
scarcely any thing to support life, we crossed a sea 
of more than twelve hundred leagues, without shel- 
ter from the inclemency of the weather ; when I 
reflect that in an open boat, with so much stormy 
weather, we escaped foundering, that not any of us 
were taken off by disease, that we had the great good 
fortune to pass the unfriendly natives of other coun- 
tries without accident, and at last to meet with the 
most friendly and best of people to relieve our dis- 
tresses — I say, when I reflect on all these wonderful 
escapes, the remembrance of such great mercies 
enables me to bear with resignation and cheerfulness 
the failure of an expedition, the success of which I 
had so much at heart, and which was frustrated at a 
time when I was congratulating myself on the fairest 
prospect of being able to complete it in a manner 
that would fully have answered the intention of his 
majesty and the humane promoters of so benevo- 
lent a plan." 

Having recruited their strength by a residence of 
two months among the friendly inhabitants of Cou- 
pang, they proceeded to the westward on the 20th 
August in a small schooner, which was purchased 
and armed for the purpose, and arrived on the 1st 
October in Batavia Road, where Mr. Bligh embarked 
in a Dutch packet, and was landed on the Isle of 
Wight on the 14th of March, 1790. The rest of the 
people had passages provided for them in ships of 
the Dutch East India Company, then about to sail 
for Europe. All of them, however, did not survive 
to reach England. Nelson, the botanist, died at 
Coupang ; Mr. Elphinstone, master's mate, Peter 
Linkletter and Thomas Hall, seamen, died at Ba- 
tavia; Robert Lamb, seaman (the booby-eater), died 
on the passage ; and Mr. Ledward, the surgeon, 
was left behind, and not afterward heard of. These 
six, with John Norton, who was stoned to death, left 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 11$ 

twelve of the nineteen, forced by the mutineers into 
the launch, to survive the difficulties and dangers of 
this unparalleled voyage, and to revisit their native 
country. With great truth might Bligh exclaim with 
the poet, 



" 'Tis mine to tell their tale of grief, 

Their constant peril and their scant relief; 
Their days of danger, and their nights of pain ; 
Their manly courage, e'en when deem'd in vain ; 
The sapping famine, rendering scarce a son 
Known to his mother in the skeleton ; 
The ills that lessen'd still their little store, 
And starved e'en hunger till he wrung no more; 
The varying frowns and favours of the deep, 
That now almost ingulphs, then leaves to creep 
With crazy oar and shatter'd strength along 
The tide, that yields reluctant to the strong; 
Th' incessant fever of that arid thirst 
Which welcomes, as a well, the clouds that burst 
Above their naked bones, and feels delight 
In the cold drenching of the stormy night, 
And from the outspread canvass gladly wrings 
A drop to moisten life's all- gasping springs ; 
The savage foe escaped, to seek again 
More hospitable shelter from the main ; 
The ghastly spectres which were doom'd at last 
To tell as true a tale of dangers past, 
As ever the dark annals of the deep 
Disclosed for man to dread or woman weep." 

It is impossible not fully to accord with Bligh 
when he says, " Thus happily ended, through the 
assistance of Divine Providence, without accident, 
a voyage of the most extraordinary nature that ever 
happened in the world,* let it be taken either in its 

* The escape of the Centaur's boat, perhaps, comes nearest to it. 
When the Centaur was sinking, Captain Inglefield and eleven others, 
in a small leaky boat, five feet broad, with one of the gunwales stove, 
nearly in the middle of the Western Ocean, without compass, without 
quadrant, without sail, without great-coat or cloak, all very thinly 
clothed, in a gale of wind, with a great sea running, and the winter fast 
approaching, — the sun and stars, by which alone they could shape their 
course, sometimes hidden for twenty-four hours ;— these unhappy men, 
m this destitute and hopeless condition, had to brave the billows of the 
stormy Atlantic for nearly a thousand miles. A blanket, which was 
by accident in the boat, served as a sail, and with this they scudded be- 
fore the wind, in expectation of being swallowed up by every wave : 
with great difficulty the boat was cleared of water before the return of 



114 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

extent, duration, or the want of every necessary of 
life." We may go further, and say it is impossible 

the next great sea ; all of the people were half-drowned, and sitting, 
except the bailers, at the bottom of the boat. On quitting the ship the 
distance of Fayal was two hundred and sixty leagues, or about nine 
hundred English miles. 

Their provisions were a bag of bread, a small ham, a single piece of 
pork, two quart bottles of waler, and a few of French cordials. One 
biscuit, divided into twelve morsels, was served for breakfast, and the 
same for dinner ; the neck of a bottle broken off, with the cork in, sup- 
plied the place of a glass ; and this filled with water was the allowance 
for twenty-four hours for each man. 

On the fifteenth day. they had only one day's bread and one bottle 
of water' remaining of a second supply of rain : on this day Matthews, a 
quarter-master, i he stoutest man in the boat, perished of hunger and cold. 
This poor man, on the day before, had complained of want of strength 
in his throat, as he expressed it, to swallow his morsel; and in the 
night drank salt-water, grew delirious, and died without a groan. 
Hitherto despair and gloom had been successfully prevented, the men, 
when the evenings closed in. having been encouraged by turns to sing 
a song, or relate a story, instead of a supper : " but," says the captain, 
" this evening I found it impossible to raise either." The captain had 
directed the clothes to be taken from the corpse of Matthews and given 
to some of the men who were perishing with cold ; but the shocking 
skeleton-like appearance of his remains made such an impression on the 
people, that all efforts to raise their spirits were ineffectual. On the 
following day, the sixteenth, their last breakfast was served with the 
bread and water remaining, when John Gregory, the quarter-master, 
declared with much confidence that he saw land in the south-east, 
which turned out to be Fayal. 

But the most extraordinary feat of navigation is that which is related 
(on good authority) in a note of the Quarterly Review, vol. xviii." p. 
337-339 :— 

Of all the feats of navigation on record, however, that of Diogo Bo- 
telho Perreira, in the early period of 1536-7, stands pre-eminent ; it is 
extracted from the voluminous Decades of Diogo de Couto, whose work, 
though abounding with much curious matter, like those of most of the 
old Portuguese writers, has not been fortunate enough to obtain an 
English translation. We are indebted to a friend for pointing it out to 
us, and we conceive it will be read with interest. 

" In the time of the viceroyalty of Don Francisco de Almeyda there 
was a young gentleman in India of the name of Diogo Botelho Perreira, 
son of the commander of Cochin, who educated him with great care, so 
that he soon became skilled in the art of navigation, and an adept in the 
construction of marine charts. As he grew up, he felt anxious to visit 
Portugal, where, on his arrival, he was well received at court, and the 
king took pleasure in conversing with him on those subjects which had 
been the particular objects of his studies. Confident of his own talents, 
and presuming on the favour with which the king always treated him, 
he ventured one day to request his majesty to appoint him commander 
of the fortress of Chaul. The king smiled at his request, and replied, 
that ' the command of the fortress was not for pilots.' Botelho was 
piqued at this answer, and on returning into the antechamber, was 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 115 

to read this extraordinary and unparalleled voyage 
without bestowing the meed of unqualified praise on 

met by Don Antonio Noronha, second son of the Marquis of Villa Real, 
who asked him if his suit had been granted : he answered, " Sir, I will 
apply where my suit will not be neglected." When this answer came 
to the ears of the king, he immediately ordered Botelho to be confined 
in the castle of Lisbon, lest he should follow the example of Megalhaens, 
and go over to Spain. There he remained a prisoner until the admiral- 
viceroy, Don Vasco da Gama, solicited his release, and was permitted 
to take him to India; but on the express condition that he should not 
return to Portugal, except by special permission. Under these un- 
pleasant circumstances this gentleman proceeded to India, anxious for 
an opportunity of distinguishing himself, that he might be permitted 
again to visit Portugal. 

" It happened about this time that the Sultan Badur, sovereign of 
Cambaya, gave the governor, Nuno da Cunha, permission to erect a 
fortress on the island of Diu, — an object long and anxiously wished for, 
as being of the greatest importance to the security of the Portuguese 
possessions in India. Botelho was aware how acceptable thisinforma 
tion would be to the king, and therefore deemed this a favourable opportu- 
nity of regaining his favour, by conveying such important intelligence; 
and he resolved to perform the voyage in a vessel so small, and so un- 
like what had ever appeared in Portugal, that it should not fail to excite 
astonishment, how any man could undertake so long and perilous a 
navigation in such a frail and diminutive bottom. 

" Without communicating his scheme to any person, he procured a 
fusta, put a deck on it from head to stern, furnished it with spare sails 
and spars, and every other necessary, and constructed two small tanka 
for water. 

" As soon as the monsoon served, he embarked with some men in his 
service, giving out that he was going to Melinde ; and to give colour to 
this story, he proceeded to Baticala, where he purchased some cloths 
and beads for that market, and laid in provisions ; some native mer- 
chants also embarked with a few articles on board for the Melinde 
market, to which he did not choose to object, lest it should alarm his 
sailors. 

" He set sail with the eastern monsoon, in the beginning of October, 
and arrived safely at Melinde, where he landed the native merchants, 
took in wood, water, and refreshments, and again put to sea, informing 
his crew that he was going to Quiloa. When he had got to a distance 
from the land, it would appear that some of his crew had mutinied ; but 
this he had foreseen and provided for; putting some of them in irons, 
and promising at the same time amply to reward the services of the rest, 
and giving them to understand that he was going to Sofala on account 
of the trade in gold. Thus he proceeded, touching at various places for 
refreshments, which he met with in great plenty and very cheap. 

" From Sofala he proceeded along the coast till he had passed the 
Cabo dos Correntes, and from thence along the shore, without ever ven- 
turing to a distance from the land, and touching at the different rivers, 
until he passed the Cape of Good Hope, which he did in January, 1537. 

" From thence he stretched into the ocean with gentle breezes, steer- 
ing for St. Helena ; where, on arriving, he drew his little vessel ashore, 
to clean her bottom and repair her, and also to give a few days' rest to 



]16 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

the able and judicious conduct of its commander, 
who is in every respect, as far as this extraordinary 
enterprise is concerned, fully entitled to rank with 
Parry, Franklin, and Richardson. Few men, indeed, 
were ever placed for so long- a period in a more try- 
ing, distressing, and perilous situation than he was ; 
and it may safely be pronounced, that to his discreet 
management of the men and their scanty resources, 

his crew, of whom some had perished of cold, notwithstanding his hav- 
ing provided warm clothing for them. 

" Departing from St. Helena, he boldly steered his little bark across 
the wide ocean, directing his career to St. Thome, where he took in 
provisions, wood, and water; and from thence he proceeded to the bar 
of Lisbon, where he arrived in May, when the king was at Almeyrin.— 
He entered the river with his oars, his little vessel being dressed with 
flags and pennants, and anchored at Point Leira opposite to Salvaterra, 
not being able to get farther up the river. This novelty produced such 
a sensation in Lisbon that the Tagus was covered with boats to see the 
fusta. Diogo Botelho Perreira landed in a boat, and proceeded to Al- 
meyrin, to give the king an account of his voyage, and solicit a gratifi- 
cation for the good news which he brought, of his majesty now being 
possessed of a fortress on the island of Diu. 

" The king was highly pleased with this intelligence, but, as Botelho 
brought no letters from the governor, he did not give him the kind of re- 
ception which he had expected. On the contrary, the king treated him 
with coldness and distance ; his majesty, however, embarked to see 
the fusta, on board of which he examined every thing with much 
attention, and was gratified in viewing a vessel of such a peculiar form, 
and ordered money and clothes to be given to the sailors— nor could he 
help considering Diogo Botelho as a man of extraordinary enterprise 
and courage, on whose firmness implicit reliance might be placed. 

" The little vessel was ordered to be drawn ashore at Sacabem, where 
it remained many years (until it fell to pieces), and was visited by peo- 
ple from all parts of Europe, who beheld it with astonishment. The 
king subsequently received letters from the governor of Nuno da Cunha, 
confirming the news brought by Botelho ; the bearer of these letters, a 
Jew, was immediately rewarded with a pension of a hundred and forty 
milreas ; but Botelho was neglected for many years, and at last ap- 
pointed commander of St. Thome, and finally made captain of Cananor 
in India, that he might be at a distance from Portugal." 

The vessel named fusta is a long, shallow, Indian-built row-boat, 
which uses latine sails in fine weather. These boats are usually open, 
bu' Botelho covered his with a deck : its dimensiows, according to La- 
vanha, in his edition of De Barros's unfinished Decade, are as follows : 
— length twenty-two palmos, or sixteen feet six inches; breadth, 
twelve palmos, or nine feet ; depth, six palmos, or four feet six inches. 
Bligh's boat was twenty-three feet long, six feet nine inches broad, and 
two feet nine inches deep. From the circumstance mentioned of soma 
of his crew having perished with cold, it is probable that they were 
natives of India, whom the Portuguese were in the habit of bringing 
home as part of their crew. 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 117 

and to his ability as a thorough seaman, eighteen 
souls were saved from imminent and otherwise in- 
evitable destruction. It was not alone the dangers 
of the sea, in an open boat, crowded with people, 
that he had to combat, though they required the most 
consummate nautical skill to be enabled to contend 
successfully against them ; but the unfortunate situa- 
tion to which the party were exposed rendered him 
subject to the almost daily murmuring and caprice 
of people less conscious than himself of their real 
danger. From the experience they had acquired at 
Tofoa of the savage disposition of the people against 
the defenceless boat's crew, a lesson was learned 
how little was to be trusted even to the mildest of 
uncivilized people when a conscious superiority 
was in their hands. A striking proof of this was 
experienced in the unprovoked attack made by those 
amiable people the Otaheitans on Captain Wallis's 
ship, of whose power they had formed no just con- 
ception ; but having once experienced the full force 
of it, on no future occasion was any attempt made 
to repeat the attack. Lieutenant Bligh, fully aware 
of his own weakness, deemed it expedient, there- 
fore, to resist all desires and temptations to land 
at any of those islands among which they passed 
in the course of the voyage, well knowing how little 
could be trusted to the forbearance of savages, un- 
armed and wholly defenceless as his party were. 

But the circumstance of being tantalized with the 
appearance of land, clothed with perennial verdure, 
whose approach was forbidden to men chilled with 
wet and cold, and nearly perishing with hunger, was 
by no means the most difficult against which the 
commander had to struggle. " It was not the least 
of my distresses," he observes, " to be constantly 
assailed with the melancholy demands of my people 
for an increase of allowance, which it grieved me 
to refuse." He well knew that to reason with men 
reduced to the last stage of famine, yet denied the 



118 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

use of provisions within their reach, and with the 
power to seize upon them in their own hands, would 
be to no purpose. Something more must be done 
to ensure even the possibility of saving them from 
the effect of their own imprudence. The first thing 
he set about, therefore, was to ascertain the exact 
state of their provisions, which were found to 
amount to the ordinary consumption of five days, 
but which were to be spun out so as to last fifty 
days. This was at once distinctly stated to the 
men, and an agreement entered into, and a solemn 
promise made by all, that the settled allowance 
should never be deviated from, as they were made 
clearly to understand that on the strict observance 
of this agreement rested the only hope of their 
safety ; and this was explained and made so evident 
to every man, at the time it was concluded, that 
they unanimously agreed to it; and by reminding 
them of this compact, whenever they became clam- 
orous for more, and showing a firm determination 
not to swerve from it, Lieutenant Bligh succeeded 
in resisting all their solicitations. 

This rigid adherence to the compact, in doling 
out their miserable pittance, — the constant exposure 
to wet, — the imminent peril of being swallowed up 
by the ocean, — their cramped and confined position, 
— and the unceasing reflection on their miserable 
and melancholy situation ; — all these difficulties and 
sufferings made it not less than miraculous that this 
voyage, itself a miracle, should have been com- 
pleted, not only without the loss of a man from 
sickness, but with so little loss of health. " With 
respect to the preservation of our health," says the 
commander, " during the course of sixteen days of 
heavy and almost continual rain, I would recommend 
to every one in a similar situation the method we 
practised of dipping their clothes in salt water, and 
to wring them out, as often as they become soaked 
with rain ; it was the only resource we had, and I 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 119 

believe was of the greatest service to us, for it felt 
more like a change of dry clothes than could well 
be imagined. We had occasion to do this so 
often, that at length all our clothes were wrung to 
pieces." 

But the great art of all was to divert their atten- 
tion from the almost hopeless situation in which 
they were placed, and to prevent despondency from 
taking possession of their minds ; and in order to 
assist in effecting this, some employment was de- 
vised for them ; among other things, a log-line, an 
object of interest to all, was measured and marked, 
and the men were practised in counting seconds 
correctly, that the distance run on each day might 
be ascertained with a nearer approach to accuracy 
than by mere guessing. These little operations 
afforded them a temporary amusement ; and the log, 
being daily and hourly hove, gave them also some 
employment, and diverted their thoughts for the 
moment from their melancholy situation. Then, 
every noon, when the sun was out, or at other times 
before and after noon, and also at night when the 
stars appeared, Lieutenant Bligh never neglected to 
take observations for the latitude, and to work the 
day's work for ascertaining the ship's place. The 
anxiety of the people to hear how they had pro- 
ceeded, what progress had been made, and where- 
abouts they were on the wide ocean, also contributed 
for the time to drive away gloomy thoughts that but 
too frequently would intrude themselves. These 
observations were rigidly attended to, and sometimes 
made under the most difficult circumstances, the sea 
breaking over the observer, and the boat pitching 
and rolling so much, that he was obliged to be 
"propped up," while taking them. In this way, 
with now and then a little interrupted sleep, about 
a thousand long and anxious hours were consumed 
in pain and peril, and a space of sea passed over 
equal to four thousand five hundred miles, being at 



120 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

the rate of four and one-fifth miles an hour, or one 
hundred miles a day. 

Lieutenant Biigh has expressed his conviction* 
that the six days spent among the coral islands off 
the coast of New-Holland, were the salvation of the 
whole party, by the refreshing sleep they here pro- 
cured, by the exercise of walking about, and, above 
all, by the nutriment derived from the oysters and 
clams, the beans and berries they procured while 
there; for that such, he says, was the exhausted 
condition of all on their arrival at the " barrier reef," 
that a few days more at sea must have terminated 
the existence of many of them. This stoppage, 
however, had likewise been nearly productive of 
fatal consequences to the whole party. In fact, 
another mutiny was within an ace of breaking out, 
which, if not checked at the moment, could only, in 
their desperate situation, have ended in irretrievable 
and total destruction. Bligh mentions, in his printed 
narrative, the mutinous conduct of a person to whom 
he gave a cutlass to defend himself. This affair, as 
stated in his original manuscript journal, wears a far 
more serious aspect. 

" The carpenter (Purcell) began to be insolent to 
a high degree, and at last told me, with a mutinous 
aspect, he was as good a man as I was. I did not 
just now see where this was to end ; 1 therefore de- 
termined to strike a final blow at it, and either to 
preserve my command or die in the attempt ; and 
taking hold of a cutlass, I ordered the rascal to take 
hold of another and defend himself, when he called 
out that I was going to kill him, and began to make 
concessions. I was now only assisted by Mr. Nel- 
son ; and the master (Fryer) very deliberately called 
out to the boatswain to put me under an arrest, and 
was stirring up a greater disturbance, when I de- 
clared, if he interfered when I was in the execution 
of my duty to preserve order and regularity, and 
that in consequence any tumult arose, I would cer* 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 12l 

tainly put him to death the first person. This had a 
proper effect on this man, and he now assured me 
that, on the contrary, I might rely on him to support 
my orders and directions for the future. This is the 
outline of a tumult that lasted about a quarter of an 
hour ;" and he adds, " I was told that the master and 
carpenter, at the last place, were endeavouring to 
produce altercations, and were the principal cause 
of their, murmuring there." This carpenter he 
brought to a court-martial on their arrival in England, 
on various charges, of which he was found guilty in 
part, and reprimanded. Purcell is said to be at this 
time in a madhouse. 

On another occasion, when a stew of oysters was 
distributed among the people, Lieutenant Bligh ob- 
serves (in the MS. journal), " In the distribution of 
it, the voraciousness of some and the moderation 
of others were very discernible. The master began 
to be dissatisfied the first, because it was not made 
into a larger quantity by the addition of water, and 
showed a turbulent disposition, until I laid my com- 
mands on him to be silent." Again, on his refusing 
bread to the men because they were collecting 
oysters, he says, " This occasioned some murmuring 
with the master and carpenter, the former of whom 
endeavoured to prove the propriety of such an ex- 
penditure, and was troublesomely ignorant, tending 
to create disorder among those, if any were weak 
enough to listen to him." 

If what Bligh states with regard to the conduct of 
the master and the carpenter be true, it was such, on 
several occasions, as to provoke a man much less 
irritable than himself. He thus speaks of the latter, 
when in the ship and in the midst of the mutiny. 
" The boatswain and carpenter were fully at liberty ; 
the former was employed, on pain of death, to hoist 
the boats out, but the latter I saw acting the part of 
an idler, with an impudent and ill-looking counte- 
nance, which led me to believe he was one of the 
L 



122 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

mutineers, until he was among the rest ordered to 
leave the ship, for it appeared to me to be a doubt 
with Christian, at first, whether he should keep the 
carpenter or his mate (Norman), but knowing the 
former to be a troublesome fellow, he determined on 
the latter." 

The following paragraph also appears in his ori- 
ginal journal, on the day of the mutiny, but is not 
alluded to in his printed narrative. " The master's 
cabin was opposite to mine ; he saw them (the mu- 
tineers) in my cabin, for our eyes met each other 
through his door-window. He had a pair of ship's 
pistols loaded, and ammunition in his cabin — a firm 
resolution might have made a good use of them. 
After he had sent twice or thrice to Christian to be 
allowed to come on deck, he was at last permitted, 
and his question then was, ' Will you let me remain 
in the ship V — ' No.' — * Have you any objection, 
Captain Bligh V I whispered to him to knock him 
down — Martin is good (this is the man who gave 
the shaddock), for this was just before Martin was 
removed from me. Christian, however, pulled me 
back, and sent away the master, with orders to go 
again to his cabin, and I saw no more of him until 
he was put into the boat. He afterward told me 
that he could find nobody to act with him; that 
by staying in the ship he hoped to have retaken 
her, and that, as to the pistols, he was so flurried 
and surprised, that he did not recollect he had 
them." This master tells a very different story 
respecting the pistols, in his evidence before the 
court-martial. 

"Whatever, therefore, on the whole, may have been 
the conduct of Bligh towards his officers, that of 
some of the latter appears to have been on several 
occasions provoking enough, and well calculated to 
stir up the irascible temper of a man active and 
zealous in the extreme, as Bligh always was, in the 
execution of his duty. Some excuse may be found 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 123 

for hasty expressions uttered in a moment of irri- 
tation, when passion gets the better of reason ; bat 
no excuse can be found for one who deeply and 
unfeelingly, without provocation, and in cold blood, 
inflicts a wound on the heart of a widowed mother, 
already torn with anguish and tortured with sus- 
pense for a beloved son whose life was in imminent 
jeopardy: such a man was William Bligh. This 
charge is not loosely asserted ; it is founded on 
documentary evidence under his own hand. Since 
the death of t\je late Captain Hey wood, some papers 
have been brought to light that throw a still more 
unfavourable stigma on the character of the two 
commanders, Bligh and Edwards, than any censure 
that has hitherto appeared in print, though the con- 
duct of neither of them has been spared, whenever 
an occasion has presented itself for bringing their 
names before the public. 

Bligh, it maybe recollected, mentions young Hey- 
wood only as one of those left in the ship ; he does 
not charge him with taking any active part in the 
mutiny ; there is every reason, indeed, to believe 
that Bligh did not, and indeed could not, see him on 
the deck on that occasion : in point of fact, he never 
was within thirty feet of Captain Bligh, and the 
booms were between them. About the end of 
March, 17^0, two months subsequent to the death 
of a most beloved and lamented husband, Mrs. Hey- 
wood received the afflicting information, but by 
report only, of a mutiny having taken place on board 
the Bounty. In that ship Mrs. Hey wood's son had 
been serving as midshipman, who, when he left his 
home, in August, 1787, was under fifteen years of 
age, a boy deservedly admired and beloved by all 
who knew him, and to his own family almost an 
object of adoration, for his superior understanding 
and the amiable qualities of his disposition. In a 
state of mind little short of distraction, on hearing 
this fatal intelligence, which was at the same time 



124 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

aggravated by every circumstance of guilt that 
calumny or malice could invent with respect to this 
unfortunate youth, who was said to be one of the 
ringleaders, and to have gone armed into the cap- 
tain's cabin, his mother addressed a letter to Captain 
Bligh, dictated by a mother's tenderness, and strongly 
expressive of the misery she must necessarily feel 
on such an occasion. The following is Bligh's 
reply : — 

" London, April 2d, 1790. 
" Madam, 
" I received your letter this day, and feel for you 
very much, being perfectly sensible of the extreme 
distress you must suffer from the conduct of your 
son Peter. His baseness is beyond all description ; but 
I hope you will endeavour to prevent the loss of him, 
heavy as the misfortune is, from afflicting you too 
severely. I imagine he is, with the rest of the mu- 
tineers, returned to Otaheite. I am, madam, 

(Signed) " Wm. Bligh." 

Colonel Holwell, the uncle of young Heywood, 
had previously addressed Bligh on the same melan- 
choly subject, to whom he returned the following: 
answer : — 

" 26th March, 1790. 
" Sir, 
"I have just this instant received your letter. 
With much concern I inform you that your nephew, 
Peter Heywood, is among the mutineers. His in- 
gratitude to me is of the blackest die, for I was a father 
to him in every respect, and he never once had an 
angry word from me through the whole course of 
the voyage, as his conduct always gave me much 
pleasure and satisfaction. I very much regret that so 
much baseness formed the character of a young man I had 
a real regard for, and it will give me much pleasure 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 125 

to hear that his friends can bear the loss of him with- 
out much concern. I am, sir, &c. 

(Signed) "Wm. Bligh." 

The only way of accounting for this ferocity of 
sentiment towards a youth who had in point of fact 
no concern in the mutiny, is by a reference to cer- 
tain points of evidence given by Hayward, Hallet, 
and Purcell on the court-martial, each point wholly 
unsupported. Those in the boat would no doub^ 
during their long passage, often discuss the conduct 
of their messmates left in the Bounty, and the unsup- 
ported evidence given by these three was well cal- 
culated to create in Bligh's mind a prejudice against 
young Heywood ; yet, if so, it affords but a poor 
excuse for harrowing up the feelings of near and 
dear relatives. 

As a contrast to these ungracious letters, it is a 
great relief to peruse the correspondence that took 
place, on this melancholy occasion, between this 
unfortunate young officer and his amiable but dread- 
fully afflicted family. The letters of his sister Nessy 
Heywood (of which a few will be inserted in the 
course of this narrative) exhibit so lively and ardent 
an affection for her beloved brother, are couched in 
so high a tone of feeling for his honour and confi- 
dence in his innocence, and are so nobly answered 
by the suffering youth, that no apology seems to be 
required for their introduction, more especially as 
their contents are strictly connected with the story 
of the ill-fated crew of the Bounty. After a state of 
long suspense, this amiable and accomplished young 
lady thus addresses her brother : — 

" Me of Man, 2d June, 1792. 

" In a situation of mind only rendered supportable 

by the long and painful state of misery and suspense 

we have suffered on his account, how shall I address 

my dear, my fondly beloved brother ! — how describe 

L3 



126 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

the anguish we have felt at the idea of this long- and 
painful separation, rendered still more distressing 
by the terrible circumstances attending it ! Oh ! 
my ever dearest boy, when I look back to that dread- 
ful moment which brought us the fatal intelligence 
that you had remained in the Bounty after Mr. Bligh 
had quitted her, and were looked upon by him as a 
mutineer ! — when I contrast that day of horror with 
my present hopes of again beholding you, such as 
my most sanguine wishes could expect, I know not 
which is the most predominant sensation,— pity, 
compassion, and terror for your sufferings, or joy 
and satisfaction at the prospect of their being near a 
termination, and of once more embracing the dearest 
object of our affections. 

" I will not ask you, my beloved brother, whether 
you are innocent of the dreadful crime of mutiny; 
if the transactions of that day were as Mr. Bligh has 
represented them, such is my conviction of your 
worth and honour that I will, without hesitation, 
stake my life on your innocence. If, on the con- 
trary, you were concerned in such a conspiracy 
against your commander, I shall be as firmly per- 
suaded his conduct was the occasion of it ; but, alas ! 
could any occasion justify so atrocious an attempt 
to destroy a number of our fellow-creatures ? No, 
my ever dearest brother, nothing but conviction 
from your own mouth can possibly persuade me that 
you would commit an action in the smallest degree 
inconsistent with honour and duty ; and the circum- 
stance of your having swam off to the Pandora on 
her arrival at Otaheite (which filled us with joy to 
which no words can do justice), is sufficient to 
convince all who know you, that you certainly 
staid behind either by force or from views of pre- 
servation. 

" How strange does it seem to me that I am now 
engaged in the delightful task of writing to you. 
Alas ! my beloved brother, two years ago I never 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 127 

expected again to enjoy such a felicity, and even 
yet I am in the most painful uncertainty whether 
you are alive. Gracious God, grant that we may 
be at length blessed by your return ! but, alas ! the 
Pandora's people have been long expected, and are 
not even yet arrived. Should any accident have 
happened, after all the miseries you have already 
suffered, the poor gleam of hope with which we have 
been lately indulged will render our situation ten 
thousand times more insupportable than if time had 
inured us to your loss. I send this to the care of 
Mr. Hay ward, of Hackney, father to the young gen- 
tleman you so often mention in your letters while 
you were on board the Bounty, and who went out 
as third lieutenant of the Pandora — a circumstance 
which gave us infinite satisfaction, as you would, 
on entering the Pandora, meet your old friend. On 
discovering old Mr. Hayward's residence, I wrote to 
him, as I hoped he could give me some information 
respecting the time of your arrival, and in return he 
sent me a most friendly letter, and has promised this 
shall be given to you when you reach England, as I 
well know how great must be your anxiety to hear 
of us, and how much satisfaction it will give you to 
have a letter immediately on your return. Let me 
conjure you, my dearest Peter, to write to us the 
very first moment — do not lose a post — 'tis of no 
consequence how short your letter may be, if it only 
informs us you are well. I need not tell you that 
you are the first and dearest object of our affections. 
Think, then, my adored boy, of the anxiety we must 
feel on your account ; for my own part, I can know 
no real joy or happiness independent of you, and if 
any misfortune should now deprive us of you, my 
hopes of felicity are fled for ever. 

" We are at present making all possible interest 
with every friend and connexion we have, to ensure 
you a sufficient support and protection at your ap- 
proaching trial; for a trial you must unavoidably 



128 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

undergo, in order to convince the world of that inno- 
cence which those who know you will not for a mo- 
ment doubt; but, alas! while circumstances are 
against you, the generality of mankind will judge 
severely. Bligh's representations to the Admiralty 
are, I am told, very unfavourable ; and hitherto the 
tide of public opinion has been greatly in his favour. 
My mamma is at present well, considering the distress 
she has suffered since you left us ; for, my dearest 
brother, we have experienced a complicated scene 
of misery from a variety of causes, which, however, 
when compared with the sorrow we felt on your 
account, was trifling and insignificant ; that misfor- 
tune made all others light, and to see you once more 
returned and safely restored to us will be the sum- 
mit of all earthly happiness. 

" Farewell, my most beloved brother ! God grant 
this may soon be put into your hands ! Perhaps at 
this moment you are arrived in England, and I may 
soon have the dear delight of again beholding you. 
My mamma, brothers, andsistersjoinwithme in every 
sentiment of love and tenderness. Write to us 
immediately, my ever-loved Peter, and may the 
Almighty preserve you until you bless with your 
presence your fondly affectionate family, and par- 
ticularly your unalterably faithful friend and sister, 
(Signed) "Nessy Heywood."* 

* Previous to the writing of this letter, the following copy of verses 
shows how anxiously this young lady's mind was engaged on the 
unhappy circumstances under which her brother was placed. 

" On the tedious and mournful absence of a most beloved brother, 
who was in the Bounty with Captain Bligh at the time of the fatal 
mutiny which happened April 28th, 1789, in the South Seas, and who, 
instead of returning with the boat when she left the ship, staid 
behind. 

" Tell me, thou busy flatt'ring telltale, why — 
Why flow these tears — why heaves this deep-felt sigh, — 
Why is all joy from my sad bosom flown, 
Why lost that cheerfulness I thought my own; 
Why seek I now in solitude for ease, 
Which once was centred in a wish to please, 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 129 

The gleam of joy which this unhappy family 
derived from the circumstance which had been related 



When ev'ry hour in joy and gladness pass'd, 

And each new day shone brighter than the last ; 

When in society I lov'd to join ; 

When to enjoy and give delight was mine ? — 

Now — sad reverse ! — in sorrow wakes each day, 

And grief's sad tones inspire each plaintive lay : 

Alas ! too plain these mournful tears can tell 

The pangs of wo my lab'ring bosom swell ! 

Thou best of brothers— friend, companion, guide, 

Joy of my youth, my honour, and my pride! 

Lost is all peace— all happiness to me, 

And fled all comfort, since depriv'd of thee 

In vain, my Lycidas, thy loss I mourn — 

In vain indulge a hope of thy return; 

Still years roll on, and still I vainly sigh — 

Still tears of anguish drown each gushing eye. 

Ah, cruel Time ! how slow thy ling'ring pace, 

Which keeps me from his tender, lov'd embrace. 

At home to see him, or to know him near, 

How much I wish — and yet how much I fear ! 

Oh, fatal voyage ! which robb'd my soul of peace 

And wreck'd my happiness in stormy seas ! 

Why, my lov'd Lycidas, why didst thou stay, 

Why waste thy life from friendship far away 1 

Though guiltless thou of mutiny or blame, 

And free from aught which could disgrace thy name; 

Though thy pure soul, in honour's footsteps train'd, 

Was never yet by disobedience stain'd ; 

Yet is thy fame expos'd to slander's wound, 

And fell suspicion whispering around. 

In vain — to those who knew thy worth and truth, 

Who watch'd each opening virtue of thy youth, 

When noblest principles inform'd thy mind, 

Where sense and sensibility were join'd ; 

Love to inspire, to charm, to win each heart, 

And ev'ry tender sentiment impart ; 

Thy outward form adorn'd with ev'ry grace ; 

With beauty's softest charms thy heavenly face, 

Where sweet expression beaming ever prov'd 

The index of that soul by all belov'd ; 

Thy wit so keen, thy genius form'd to soar, 

By fancy wing'd, new science to explore; 

Thy temper, ever gentle, good, and kind, 

Where all but guilt an advocate could find : 

To those who know this character was thine 

(And in this truth assenting numbers join), 

How vain th' attempt to fix a crime on thee 

Which thou disdain'st — from which each thought is free ! 

No, my lov'd brother, ne'er will I believe 

Thy seeming worth was meant but to deceive ; 



130 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

to them of young Heywood's swimming- off to the 
Pandora, was dissipated by a letter from himself 
to his mother soon after his arrival in England, in 
which he says : — " The question, my dear mother, 
in one of your letters, concerning my swimming off 
to the Pandora, is one falsity among the too many 
in which I have often thought of undeceiving you, 
and as frequently forgot. The story was this : — On 
the morning she arrived, accompanied by two of my 
friends (natives), I was going up the mountains, and 
having got about a hundred yards from my own 
house, another of my friends (for I was a universal 
favourite among those^ Indians, and perfectly con- 
versant in their language) came running after me, 
and informed me there was a ship coming. I imme- 
diately ascended a rising ground, and saw, with 
indescribable joy, a ship laying-to off Hapiano ; it 
was just after daylight, and thinking Coleman might 
not be awake, and therefore ignorant of this pleasing 
news, I sent one of my servants to inform him of 
it, upon which he immediately went off in a single 

Still will I think (each circumstance though strange) 

That thy firm principles could never change ; 

That hopes of preservation urged thy stay, 

Or force, which those resistless must obey. 

If this is error, let me still remain 

In error wrapp'd, nor wake to truth again . 

Come then, sweet Hope, with all thy train o» joy, 

Nor let Despair each rapt'rous thought destroy; 

Indulgent Heav'n, in pity to our tears, 

At length will bless a parent's sinking years ; 

Again shall I behold thy lovely face, 

By manhood form'd, and ripen'd ev'ry grace ; 

Again I'll press thee to my anxious breast, 

And ev'ry sorrow shall be hush'd to rest. 

Thy presence only can each comfort give. 

Come then, my Lycidas, and let me live ; 

Life without thee is but a wretched load, 

Thy love alone can smooth its thorny road ; 

But, blest with thee, how light were every wo ; 

How would my soul with joy and rapture glow ! 

Kind Heav'n ! thou hast my happiness in store, 

Restore him innocent — I ask no more '. 

"Nessy Hkvwooo 
* Me of Man, Feb. 25th, 1792." 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 13 

canoe. There was a fresh breeze, and the ship 
working - into the bay ; he no sooner got alongside 
than the rippling capsized the canoe, and he being 
obliged to let go the tow-rope to get her righted, 
went astern and was picked up the next tack and 
taken on board the Pandora, he being the first person. 
I, along with my messmate Stewart, was then stand- 
ing upon the beach with a double canoe manned 
with twelve paddles ready for launching; and just 
as she made her last tack into her berth (for we did 
not think it requisite to go off sooner) we put off and 
got alongside just as they streamed the buoy ; and 
being dressed in the country manner, tanned as brown 
as themselves, and I tattooed like them in the most 
curious manner, 1 do not in the least wonder at their 
taking us for natives. I was tattooed, not to gratify 
my own desire, but theirs; for it was my constant 
endeavour to acquiesce in any little custom which I 
thought would be agreeable to them, though painful 
in the process, provided I gained by it their friend- 
ship and esteem, which you may suppose is no incon- 
siderable object in an island where the natives are 
so numerous. The more a man or woman there is 
tattooed, the more they are respected; and a person 
having none of these marks is looked upon as bear- 
ing an unworthy badge of disgrace, and considered 
as a mere outcast of society." 

Among the many anxious friends and family con- 
nexions of the Heywoods was Commodore Pasley, 
to whom this affectionate young lady addressed her- 
self on the melancholy occasion; and the following 
is the reply she received from this officer : — 

" Sheerness, June 8th, 1792. 
" Would to God, my dearest Nessy, that I could 
rejoice with you on the early prospect of your 
brother's arrival in England. One division of the 
Pandora's people has arrived, and now on board the 
Vengeance (my ship). Captain Edwards, with the 



132 THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 

remainder, and all the prisoners late of the Bounty, 
in number ten (four having been drowned on the loss 
of that ship), are daily expected. They have been 
most rigorously and closely confined since taken, 
and will continue so, no doubt, till Bligh's arrival. 
You have no chance of seeing him, for no bail can 
be offered. Your intelligence of his swimming off 
on the Pandora's arrival is not founded : a man of 
the name of Coleman swam off ere she anchored, — 
your brother and Mr. Stewart the next day. This 
last youth, when the Pandora was lost, refused to 
allow his irons to be taken off to save his life. 

" I cannot conceal it from you, my dearest Nessy, 
neither is it proper I should, — your brother appears 
by all accounts to be the greatest culprit of all, 
Christian alone excepted. Every exertion, you may 
rest assured, I shall use to save his life ; but on trial 
I have no hope of his not being condemned. Three 
of the ten who are expected are mentioned in Bligh's 
narrative as men detained against their inclination. 
Would to God your brother had been one of that 
number ! I will not distress you more by enlarging 
on this subject; as intelligence arises on their arri- 
val, you shall be made acquainted. Adieu, my dear- 
est Nessy. Present my affectionate remembrances 
to your mother and sisters, and believe me always, 
with the warmest affection, 

" Your uncle, " Thos. Pasley." 

How unlike is this from the letter of Bligh ! while 
it frankly apprizes this amiable lady of the real truth 
of the case, without disguise, as it was then under- 
stood to be from Mr. Bligh's representations, it as- 
sures her of his best exertions to save her brother's 
life. Every reader of sensibility will sympathize in 
the feeling displayed in her reply. 

"Isle of Man y 22d June, 1792. 
"Harassed by the most torturing suspense, and 



THE OPEN-BOAT NAVIGATION. 133 

miserably wretched as I have been, my dearest uncle, 
since the receipt of your last, conceive, if it is pos- 
sible, the heartfelt joy and satisfaction we expe- 
rienced yesterday morning-, when, on the arrival of 
the packet, the dear delightful letter from our be- 
loved Peter (a copy of which I send you enclosed) 
was brought to us. Surely, my excellent friend, you 
will agree with me in thinking there could not be a 
stronger proof of his innocence and worth, and that 
it must prejudice every person who reads it most 
powerfully in his favour. Such a letter in less dis- 
tressful circumstances than those in which he writes 
would, I am persuaded, reflect honour on the pen of 
a person much older than my poor brother. But 
when we consider his extreme youth (only sixteen 
at the time of the mutiny, and now but nineteen), 
his fortitude, patience, and manly resignation under 
the pressure of sufferings and misfortunes almost 
unheard of, and scarcely to be supported at any age, 
without the assistance of that which seems to be my 
dear brother's greatest comfort, — a quiet conscience, 
and a thorough conviction of his own innocence, — 
when I add, at the same time, with real pleasure and 
satisfaction, that his relation corresponds in many 
particulars with the accounts we have hitherto heard 
of the fatal mutiny, — and when I also add, with in- 
conceivable pride and delight, that my beloved Peter 
never was known to breathe a syllable inconsistent 
with truth and honour ; — when these circumstances, 
my dear uncle, are all united, what man on earth 
can doubt of the innocence which could dictate such 
a letter 1 In short, let it speak for him. The peru- 
sal of his artless and pathetic story will, I am per- 
suaded, be a stronger recommendation in his favour 
than any thing I can urge.* 

"I need not tire your patience, my ever-loved 
uncle, by dwelling longer on this subject (the dear- 

* This interesting letter is given in the following chapter, to which it 
appropriately belongs. 

M 



134 THE PANDORA. 

est and most interesting on earth to my heart) ; let 
me conjure you only, my kind friend, to read it, and 
consider the innocence and defenceless situation of 
its unfortunate author, which calls for, and I am 
sure deserves, all the pity and assistance his friends 
can afford him, and which, I am sure also, the good- 
ness and benevolence of your heart will prompt you 
to exert in his behalf. It is perfectly unnecessary 
for me to add, after the anxiety I feel, and cannot but 
express, that no benefit conferred upon myself will 
be acknowledged with half the gratitude I must ever 
feel for the smallest instance of kindness shown to 
my beloved Peter. Farewell, my dearest uncle. 
With the firmest reliance on your kind and gene- 
rous promises, I am ever, with the truest gratitude 
and sincerity, 

" Your most affectionate niece, 

" Nessy Heywood." 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PANDORA. 

-" Oh ! I have suffer'd 

With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel, 
Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her 
Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock 
Against my very heart ! Poor souls ! they perish'd. 
Had I been any god of power, I would 
Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere 
It should the good ship so have swallow'd, and 
The freighting souls within her." 

The tide of public applause set as strongly in fa- 
vour of Bligh, on account of his sufferings and the 
successful issue of his daring enterprise, as its in- 
dignation was launched against Christian and his 
associates, for the audacious and criminal deed they 



THE PANDORA. 135 

had committed. Bligh was promoted by the Admi- 
ralty to the rank of commander, and speedily sent 
out a second time to transport the bread-fruit to the 
West Indies, which he without the least obstruction 
successfully accomplished; and his majesty's gov- 
ernment were no sooner made acquainted with the 
atrocious act of piracy and mutiny, than it deter- 
mined to adopt every possible means to apprehend 
and bring to condign punishment the perpetrators of 
so foul a deed. For this purpose, the Pandora frig- 
ate of twenty-four guns, and one hundred and sixty 
men, was despatched under the command of Captain 
Edward Edwards, with orders to proceed in the first 
instance to Otaheite, and, not finding the mutineers 
there, to visit the different groups of the Society and 
Friendly Islands, and others in the neighbouring 
parts of the Pacific, using his best endeavours to 
seize and bring home in confinement the whole or 
such part of the delinquents as he might be able to 
discover. 

This voyage was in the sequel almost as disas- 
trous as that of the Bounty, but from a different 
cause. The waste of human life was much greater, 
occasioned by the wreck of the ship ; and the dis- 
tress experienced by the crew not much less, owing 
to the famine and thirst they had to suffer in a navi- 
gation of eleven hundred miles in open boats ; but 
the captain succeeded in fulfilling a part of his in- 
structions, by taking fourteen of the mutineers, of 
whom ten were brought safe to England, the other 
four being drowned when the ship was wrecked. 

The only published account of this voyage is con- 
tained in a small volume by Mr. George Hamilton, 
the surgeon, who appears to have been a coarse, 
vulgar, and illiterate man, more disposed to relate 
licentious scenes and adventures in which he and 
his companions were engaged, than to give any in- 
formation of proceedings and occurrences connected 
witb the main object of the voyage. From this book, 



136 THE PANDORA. 

therefore, much information is not to be looked for. 
In a more modern publication many abusive epithets 
have been bestowed on Captain Edwards, and obser- 
vations made on the conduct of this officer highly- 
injurious to his reputation, in regard to his inhuman 
treatment of, and disgraceful acts of cruelty towards, 
his prisoners, which, it is to be feared, have but too 
much foundation in fact. 

The account of his proceedings rendered by him- 
self to the Admiralty is vague and unsatisfactory ; 
and had it not been for the journal of Morrison, and 
a circumstantial letter of young Heywood to his 
mother, no record would have remained of the un- 
feeling conduct of this officer towards his unfortu- 
nate prisoners, who were treated with a rigour 
which could not be justified on any ground of neces- 
sity or prudence. 

The Pandora anchored in Matavai Bay on the 23d 
March, 1791. Captain Edwards, in his narrative, 
states that Joseph Coleman, the armourer of the 
Bounty, attempted to come on board before the Pan- 
dora had anchored ; that on reaching the ship he 
began to make inquiries of him after the Bounty and 
her people, and that he seemed to be ready to give 
him any information that was required; that the 
next who came on board, just after the ship had an- 
chored, were Mr. Peter Heywood and Mr. Stewart, 
before any boat had been sent on shore ; that they 
were brought down to his cabin, when, after some 
conversation, Heywood asked if Mr. Hayward (mid- 
shipman of the Bounty, but now lieutenant of the 
Pandora) was on board, as he had heard that he was; 
that Lieutenant Hayward, whom he sent for, treated 
Heywood with a sort of contemptuous look, and 
began to enter into conversation with him respect- 
ing the Bounty ; but Edwards ordered him to desist, 
and called in the sentinel to take the prisoners into 
safe custody, and to put them in irons; that four 
other mutineers soon made their appearance ; and 



THE PANDORA. 137 

that from them and some of the natives he learned 
that the rest of the Bounty's people had built a 
schooner, with which they had sailed the day before 
from Matavai Bay to the north-west part of the island. 
He goes on to say, that on this intelligence he 
despatched the two lieutenants, Corner and Hay- 
ward, with the pinnace and launch, to endeavour to 
intercept her. They soon got sight of her and 
chased her out to sea, but the schooner gained so 
much upon them, and night coming on, they were 
compelled to give up the pursuit and return to the 
ship. It was soon made known, however, that she 
had returned to Paparre, on which they were again 
despatched in search of her. Lieutenant Corner had 
taken three of the mutineers, and Hayward, on 
arriving at Paparre, found the schooner there, but 
the mutineers had abandoned her and fled to the 
mountains. He carried off the schooner, and re- 
turned next day, when he learned they were not far 
off; and the following morning, on hearing they 
were coming down, he drew up his party in order to 
receive them, and when within hearing, called to 
them to lay down their arms and to go on one side, 
which they did, when they were confined and 
brought as prisoners to the ship. 

The following were the persons received onboard 
the Pandora: — 

Peter Hey wood .Midshipman. 

George Stewart Ditto. 

James Morrison Boatswain's Mate. 

Charles Norman Carpenter's Mate. 

Thomas M'Intosh Carpenter's Crew 

Joseph Coleman Armourer. 

Ridiard Skinner "| 

Thomas Ellison 

Henry Hillbrant 

Thomas Burkitt 1 Cll , man , 

John Millward f Seamen. 

John Sumner 
William Musprat | 
Richard Byrn J 

In all fourteen. The other two, which made up the 
M2 



138 THE PANDORA. 

sixteen that had been left on the island, were mur- 
dered, as will appear presently. 

Captain Edwards will himself explain how he 
disposed of his prisoners. " I put the pirates," he 
says, " into a round-house which I built on the after- 
part of the quarter-deck, for their more effectual se- 
curity in this airy and healthy situation, and to sepa- 
rate them from, and to prevent their having commu- 
nication with, or to crowd and incommode the ship's 
company." Dr. Hamilton calls it the most desirable 
place in the ship, and adds, that " orders were given 
that the prisoners should be victualled in every re- 
spect the same as the ship's company, both in meat, 
liquor, and all the extra indulgences with which they 
were so liberally supplied, notwithstanding the estab- 
lished laws of the service, which restrict prisoners 
to two-thirds allowance ; but Captain Edwards very 
humanely commiserated their unhappy and inevita- 
ble length of confinement." Mr. Morrison, one of 
the prisoners, gives a very different account of their 
treatment from that of Edwards or Hamilton. He 
says that Captain Edwards put both legs of the two 
midshipmen in irons, and that he branded them with 
the opprobrious epithet of " piratical villains ;" that 
they, with the rest, being strongly handcuffed, were 
put into a kind of round-house, only eleven feet long, 
built as a prison, and aptly named " Pandora's Box," 
which was entered by a scuttle in the roof, about 
eighteen inches square. This was done in order 
that they might be kept separate from the crew, and 
also the more effectually to prevent them from 
having any communication with the natives ; that 
such of those friendly creatures as ventured to look 
pitifully towards them were instantly turned out of 
the ship, and never again allowed to come on board 
But two sentinels were kept constantly upon the 
roof of the prison, with orders to shoot the first of 
its inmates who should attempt to address another 
in the Otaheitan dialect. 



THE PANDORA. 139 

That Captain Edwards took every precaution to 
keep his prisoners in safe custody, and place them in 
confinement, as by his instructions he was directed 
to do, may be well imagined,* but Mr. Morrison will 
probably be thought to go somewhat beyond credi- 
bility in stating that orders were given " to shoot any 
of the prisoners," when confined in irons. Captain 
Edwards must have known that such an act would 
have cost him his commission, or something more. 
The fact is, that information was given to Edwards, 
at least he so asserts, by the brother of the King of 
Otaheite, an intelligent chief, that a conspiracy was 
formed among the natives to cut the ship's cables 
the first strong wind that should blow on the shore, 
which was considered to be the more probable, as 
many of the prisoners were said to be married to the 
most respectable chiefs' daughters in the district 
opposite to the anchorage; that the midshipman 
Stewart, in particular, had married the daughter of a 
man of great landed property near Matavai Bay. 
This intelligence, no doubt, weighed with the cap- 
tain in giving his orders for the close confinement 
of the prisoners ; and particularly in restricting the 
visits of the natives ; but so far is it from being true 
that all communication between the mutineers and 
the natives was cut off, that we are distinctly told 
by Mr. Hamilton, that " the prisoners' wives visited 
the ship daily, and brought their children, who were 
permitted to be carried to their unhappy fathers. To 
see the poor captives in irons," he says, " weeping 
over their tender offspring, was too moving a scene for 
any feeling heart. Their wives brought them ample 
supplies of every delicacy that the country afforded, 
while we lay there, and behaved with the greatest 
fidelity and affection to them."f 

* His orders ran thus :— " You are to keep the mutineers as closely 
confined as may preclude all possibility of their escaping, having, how- 
ever, proper regard to the preservation of their lives, that they may be 
brought home, to undergo the punishment due to their demerits." 

t Voyage round the World, by Mr. George Hamilton, p. 34. 



140 THE PANDORA. 

Of the fidelity and attachment of these simple- 
minded creatures an instance is afforded in the affect- 
ing- story which is told, in the first Missionary 
Voyage of the Duff, of the unfortunate wife of the 
reputed mutineer Mr. Stewart. It would seem also 
to exonerate Edwards from some part of the charges 
which have been brought against him. 

" The history of Peggy Stewart marks a tender- 
ness of heart that never will be heard without emo- 
tion: she was daughter of a chief, and taken for 
his wife by Mr. Stewart, one of the unhappy muti- 
neers. They had lived with the old chief in the 
most tender state of endearment ; a. beautiful little 
girl had been the fruit of their union, and was at the 
breast when the Pandora arrived, seized the crimi- 
nals, and secured them in irons on board the ship. 
Frantic with grief, the unhappy Peggy (for so he had 
named her) flew with her infant in a canoe to the 
arms of her husband. The interview was so affect- 
ing and afflicting, that the officers on board were 
overwhelmed with anguish, and Stewart himself, 
unable to bear the heart-rending scene, begged she 
might not be admitted again on board. She was 
separated from him by violence, and conveyed on 
shore in a state of despair and grief too big for 
utterance. ""Withheld from him, and forbidden to 
come any more on board, she sunk into the deepest 
dejection ; it preyed on her vitals ; she lost all relish 
for food and life, rejoiced no more, pined under a 
rapid decay of two months, and fell a victim to her 
feelings, dying literally of a broken heart. Her 
child is yet alive, and the tender object of our care, 
having been brought up by a sister, who nursed it as 
her own, and has discharged all the duties of an 
affectionate mother to the orphan infant."* 

It does not appear that young Heywood formed 
any matrimonial engagement during his abode in 

* A Missionary Voyage to the Soutbem Pacific p. 26a 



THE PANDORA. 141 

Otaheite. He was not, however, insensible to the 
amiable and good qualities of these people. In some 
laudatory verses which he wrote while on the island, 
their numerous good qualities are spoken of in terms 
of the highest commendation. 

All the mutineers that were left on the island 
being received on board the Pandora, that ship pro- 
ceeded in search of those who had gone away in the 
Bounty. It may be mentioned, however, that two 
of the most active in the mutiny, Churchill and 
Thompson, had perished on the island before her ar- 
rival, by violent deaths. These two men had accom- 
panied a chief, who was the tayo, or sworn friend, of 
Churchill, and having died without children, this 
mutineer succeeded to his property and dignity, ac- 
cording to the custom of the country. Thompson, 
for some real or fancied insult, took an opportunity 
of shooting his companion. The natives assembled, 
and came to a resolution to avenge the murder, and 
literally stoned Thompson to death, and his scull 
was brought on board the Pandora. This horrible 
wretch had some time before slain a man and a child 
through mere wantonness, but escaped punishment 
by a mistake that had nearly proved fatal to young 
Heywood. It seems that the description of a per- 
son in Otaheite is usually given by some distinguish- 
ing figure of the tattoo, and Heywood, having the 
same marks as Thompson, was taken for him ; and 
just as the club was raised to dash out his brains, the 
interposition of an old chief, with whom he was 
travelling round the island, was just in time to avert 
the blow. 

Captain Edwards had no clew to guide him as to 
the route taken by the Bounty, but he learned from 
different people, and from journals kept onboard that 
ship, which were found in the chests of the muti- 
neers at Otaheite, the proceedings of Christian and 
his associates after Lieutenant Bligh and his com- 
panions had been turned adrift in the launch. From 



142 THE PANDORA. 

these it appears that the pirates proceeded in the 
first instance to the island of Toobouai, in lat. 20° 13' 
S., long. 149° 35' W., where they anchored on the 
25th May, 1789. They had thrown overboard the 
greater part of the bread-fruit plants, and divided 
among themselves the property of the officers and 
men who had been so inhumanly turned adrift. At 
this island they intended to form a settlement, but 
the opposition of the natives, the want of many 
necessary materials, and quarrels among themselves, 
determined them to go to Otaheite to procure what 
might be required to effect their purpose, provided 
they should agree to prosecute their original inten- 
tion. They accordingly sailed from Toobouai about 
the latter end of the month, and arrived at Otaheite 
on the 6th June. The otoo, or reigning sovereign, 
and other principal natives, were very inquisitive 
and anxious to know what had become of Lieuten- 
ant Bligh and the rest of the crew, and also what 
had been done with the bread-fruit plants. They 
were told they had most unexpectedly fallen in with 
Captain Cook, at an island he had just discovered, 
called Whytootakee, where he intended to form a 
settlement, and where the plants had been landed ; 
and that Lieutenant Bligh and the others were stop- 
ping there to assist Captain Cook in the business he 
had in hand, and that he had appointed Mr. Chris- 
tian commander of the Bounty ; and that he was 
now come by his orders for an additional supply of 
hogs, goats, fowls, bread-fruit, and various other 
articles which Otaheite could supply. 

This artful story was quite sufficient to impose on 
the credulity of these humane and simple-minded 
islanders ; and so overcome with joy were they to 
hear that their old friend Captain Cook was alive, 
and about to settle so near them, that every possible 
means were forthwith made use of to procure the 
things that were wanted ; so that in the course of a 
very few days the Bounty received on board three 



THE PANDORA. 14S 

hundred and twelve hogs, thirty-eight goats, eight 
dozen of fowls, a bull and a cow, and a large quan- 
tity of bread-fruit, plantains, bananas, and other fruits* 
They also took with them eight men, nine women, 
and seven boys. With these supplies they left Ota- 
heite on the 19th June, and arrived a-second time at 
Toobouai on the 26th. They warped the ship up 
the harbour, landed the live stock, and set about 
building a fort of fifty yards square. 

While this work was carrying on, quarrels and dis- 
agreements were daily happening among them, and 
continual disputes and skirmishes were taking place 
with the natives, generally brought on by the violent 
conduct of the invaders, and by depredations com- 
mitted on their property. Retaliations were at- 
tempted by the natives without success, numbers 
of whom, being pursued with firearms, were put to 
death. Still the situation of the mutineers became 
so disagreeable and unsafe, the work went on so 
slowly and reluctantly, that the building of the fort 
was agreed to be discontinued. Christian in fact, 
had very soon perceived that his authority was on 
the wane, and that no peaceful establishment was 
likely to be accomplished at Toobouai ; he therefore 
held a consultation as to what would be the most 
advisable step to take. After much angiy discus- 
sion, it was at length determined that Toobouai 
should be abandoned ; that the ship should once more 
be taken to Otaheite; and that those who might 
choose to go on shore there might do so, and those 
who preferred to remain in the ship might proceed 
in her to whatever place they should agree upon 
among themselves. 

In consequence of this determination, they sailed 
from Toobouai on the 15th, and arrived at Matavai 
Bay on the 20th September, 1789. Here sixteen of 
the mutineers were put on shore, at their own re- 
quest, fourteen of whom were received on board the 
Pandora, and two of them, as before mentioned, 



144 THE PANDORA. 

were murdered on the island. The remaining nine 
agreed to continue in the Bounty. The small arms, 
powder, canvass, and the small stores belonging to 
the ship were equally divided among the whole 
crew. The Bounty sailed finally from Otaheite on 
the night of the 21st September, and was last seen 
the following morning to the north-west of Point 
Venus. They took with them seven Otaheitan men 
and twelve women. It was not even conjectured 
whither they meant to go ; but Christian had fre- 
quently been heard to say, that his object was to 
discover some unknown or uninhabited island, in 
which there was no harbour for shipping ; that he 
would run the Bounty on shore, and make use of her 
materials to form a settlement ; but this was the only 
account, vague as it was, that could be procured 
to direct Captain Edwards in his intended search. 
It appears that when the schooner, of which we 
have spoken, had been finished, six of the fourteen 
mutineers that were left on Otaheite embarked in 
her, with the intention of proceeding to the East 
Indies, and actually put to sea ; but meeting with 
bad weather, and suspecting the nautical abilities of 
Morrison, whom they had elected as commanding 
officer, to conduct her in safety, they resolved on 
returning to Otaheite. Morrison, it seems, first un- 
dertook the construction of this schooner, being 
himself a tolerable mechanic, in which he was as- 
sisted by the two carpenters, the cooper, and some 
others. To this little band of architects, we are told, 
Morrison acted both as director and chaplain, dis- 
tinguishing the Sabbath-day by reading to them the 
church liturgy, and hoisting the British colours on 
a flag-staff erected near the scene of their opera- 
tions. Conscious of his innocence, his object is 
stated to have been that of reaching Batavia in time 
to secure a passage home in the next fleet bound to 
Holland ; but that their return was occasioned, not 
by any distrust of Morrison's talents, but by a 



THE PANDORA. 145 

refusal on the part of the natives to give them a 
sufficient quantity of matting and other necessaries 
for so long a voyage, being, in fact, desirous of re- 
taining them on the island. Stewart and young 
Heywood took no part in this transaction, having 
made up their minds to remain at Otaheite,and there 
to await the arrival of a king's ship, it being morally 
certain that ere long one would be sent out thither 
to search for them, whatever might have been the 
fate of Bligh and his companions ; and that this was 
really their intention is evident by the alacrity they 
displayed in getting on board the Pandora the mo- 
ment of her arrival. 

On the 8th of May. this frigate left Otaheite, ac- 
companied by the little schooner which the muti- 
neers had built, and the history of which is some- 
what remarkable. In point of size she was not a 
great deal larger than Lieutenant Bligh's launch, her 
dimensions being thirty feet length of keel, thirty- 
five feet length on deck, nine feet and a half ex- 
treme breadth, five feet depth of the hold. She 
parted from the Pandora near the Palmerston 
Islands, when searching for the Bounty, and was not 
heard of till the arrival of the Pandora's crew at 
Samarang, in Java, where they found her lying at 
anchor, the crew having suffered so dreadfully from 
famine and the want of water, that one of the young 
gentlemen belonging to her became delirious. She 
was a remarkably swift sailer, and being afterward 
employed in the sea-otter trade, is stated to have 
made one of the quickest passages ever known from 
China to the Sandwich Islands. This memorable 
little vessel was purchased at Canton by the late 
Captain Broughton, to assist him in surveying the 
coast of Tartary, and became the means of pre- 
serving the crew of his majesty's ship Providence, 
amounting to one hundred and twelve men, when 
wrecked to the eastward of Formosa, intheyearl797. 

The Pandora called at numerous islands witLuut 
N 



146 THE PANDORA. 

success, but on Lieutenant Corner having landed on 
one of the Palmerston's group, he found a yard and 
some spars with the broad arrow upon them, and 
marked "Bounty." This induced the captain to 
cause a very minute search to be made in all these 
islands, in the course of which the Pandora, b^ing 
driven out to sea by blowing weather, and very thick 
and hazy, lost sight of the little tender and a jolly 
boat, the latter of which was never more heard of. 
This gives occasion to a little splenetic effusion from 
a writer in a periodical journal,* which was hardly 
called for. " When this boat," says the writer, 
" with a midshipman and several men (four), had 
been inhumanly ordered from alongside, it was 
known that there was nothing in her but one piece 
of salt-beef, compassionately thrown in by a sea- 
man; and horrid as must have been their fate, the 
flippant surgeon, after detailing the disgraceful fact, 
adds, ' that this is the way the world was peopled, 1 
or words to that effect, for we quote only from me- 
mory." The following is quoted from the book : — 
"It may be difficult to surmise," says the surgeon, 
" what has been the fate of those unfortunate men. 
They had a piece of salt beef thrown into the boat 
to them on leaving the ship ; and it rained a good 
deal that night and the following day, which might 
satiate their thirst. It is by these accidents the 
Divine Ruler of the universe has peopled the 
southern hemisphere." This is no more than as- 
serting an acknowledged fact that can hardly admit 
of a dispute, and there appears nothing in the para- 
graph which at all affects the character of Captain 
Edwards, against whom it is levelled. 

After a fruitless search of three months, the Pan- 
dora arrived on the 29th August on the coast of 
New-Holland, and close to that extraordinary reef 
of coral rocks called the " Barrier Reef," which 

* United Service Journal. 



THE PANDORA. 147 

runs along- the greater part of the eastern coast, but 
at a considerable distance from it. The boat had 
been sent out to look for an opening', which was soon 
discovered, but in the course of the night the ship 
had drifted past it. " On getting soundings," says 
Captain Edwards, in his narrative laid before the 
court-martial, " the topsails were filled; but before 
the tacks were hauled on board and other sail made 
and trimmed, the ship struck upon a reef; we had a 
quarter less two fathoms on the larboard side, and 
three fathoms on the starboard side ; the sails were 
braced about different ways to endeavour to get her 
off, but to no purpose ; they were then clewed up 
and afterward furled, the top-gallant yards got 
down and the top-gallant masts struck. Boats 
were hoisted out with a view to carry out an 
anchor, but before that could be effected the ship 
struck so violently on the reef, that the carpenter 
reported she made eighteen inches of water in five 
minutes ; and in five minutes after this, that there 
were four feet of water in the hold. Finding the 
leak increasing so fast, it was thought necessary to 
turn the hands to the pumps, and to bail at the dif- 
ferent hatchways; but she still continued to gain 
upon us so fast, that in little more than an hour and 
a half after she struck, there were eight feet and a 
half of water in the hold. About ten we perceived 
that the ship had beaten over the reef, and was in 
ten fathoms water; we therefore let go the small 
bower anchor, cleared away a cable, and let go the 
best bower anchor in fifteen and a half fathoms 
water under foot, to steady the ship. Some of her 
guns were thrown overboard, and the water gained 
upon us only in a small degree, and we flattered 
ourselves that by the assistance of a thrummed 
topsail, which we were preparing to haul under the 
ship's bottom, we might be able to lessen the leak, 
and to free her of water : but these flattering hopes 
did not continue long; for, as she settled in the 



148 THE PANDORA. 

water the leak increased again, and in so great a 
degree that there was reason to apprehend she 
would sink before daylight. During the night two 
of the pumps were unfortunately for some time ren- 
dered useless ; one of them, however, was repaired, 
and we continued bailing and pumping the remainder 
of the night ; and every effort that was thought of 
was made to keep afloat and preserve the ship. 
Daylight fortunately appeared, and gave us the op- 
portunity of seeing our situation and the surround- 
ing danger, and it was evident the ship had been 
carried to the northward by a tide or current. 

" The officers, whom I had consulted on the sub- 
ject of our situation, gave it as their opinion that 
nothing more could be done for the preservation of 
the ship ; it then became necessary to endeavour to 
provide and to find means for the preservation of 
the people. Our four boats, which consisted of one 
launch, one eight-oared pinnace, and two six-oared 
yawls, with careful hands in them, were kept astern 
of the ship ; a small quantity of bread, water, and 
other necessary articles were put into them ; two 
canoes which we had on board were lashed to- 
gether and put into the water ; rafts were made, and 
all floating things upon deck were unlashed. 

" About half-past six in the morning of the 29th 
the hold was full, and the water was between decks, 
and it also washed in at the upper deck ports, and 
there were strong indications that the ship was on 
the very point of sinking, and we began to leap 
overboard and take to the boats, and before every- 
body could get out of her she actually sunk. The 
boats continued astern of the ship in the direction 
of the drift of the tide from her, and took up the 
people that had hold of rafts and other floating 
things that had been cast loose, for the purpose of 
supporting them on the water. The double canob, 
that was able to support a considerable number of 
men, broke adrift with only one man, and was 



THE PANDORA. 149 

bulged upon a reef, and afforded us no assistance 
when she was so much wanted on this trying and 
melancholy occasion. Two of the boats were laden 
with men, and sent to a small sandy island (or key) 
about four miles from the wreck; and I remained 
near the ship for some time with the other two 
boats, and picked up all the people that could be 
seen, and then followed the first two boats to the 
key; and having landed the men and cleared the 
boats, they were immediately despatched again to 
look about the wreck and the adjoining reef for any 
that might be missing, but they returned without 
having found a single person. On mustering the 
people that were saved, it appeared that eighty-nine 
of the ship's company, and ten of the mutineers that 
had been prisoners on board, answered to their 
names ; but thirty-one of the ship's company and 
four mutineers were lost with the ship." 

It is remarkable enough that so little notice is 
taken of the mutineers in this narrative of the 
captain ; and as the following statement is supposed 
to come from the late Lieutenant Corner, who was 
second lieutenant of the Pandora, it is entitled to be 
considered as authentic, and if so, Captain Edwards 
must have deserved the character ascribed to him 
of being altogether destitute of the common feel- 
ings of humanity. 

"Three of the Bounty's people, Coleman, Nor- 
man, and M'Intosh, were now let out of irons, and 
sent to work at the pumps. The others offered 
their assistance, and begged to be allowed a chance 
of saving their lives ; instead of which, two addi- 
tional sentinels were placed over them, with orders 
to shoot any who should attempt to get rid of their 

tters. Seeing no prospect of escape, they betook 
themselves to prayer, and prepared to meet their 
fate, every one expecting that the ship would soon 
go to pieces, her rudder and part of the stern-post 
being already beat awav." 
N'2 



150 THE PANDORA. 

When the ship was actually sinking, and every 
effort making for the preservation of the crew, it is 
asserted that " no notice was taken of the prisoners, 
as is falsely stated by the author of the ' Pandora's 
Voyage,' although Captain Edwards was entreated 
by Mr. Heywood to have mercy upon them, when he 
passed over their prison, to make his own escape, 
the ship then lying on her broadside with the lar- 
board bow completely under water. Fortunately, 
the master-at-arms, either by accident or design, 
when slipping from the roof of ' Pandora's Box' 
into the sea, let the keys of the irons fall through 
the scuttle or entrance, which he had just before 
opened, and thus enabled them to commence their 
own liberation, in which they were generously 
assisted, at the imminent risk of his own life, by 
William Moulter, a boatswain's mate, who clung to 
the coamings, and pulled the long bars through the 
shackles, saying he would set them free, or go to 
the bottom with them. 

" Scarcely was this effected when the ship went 
down, leaving nothing visible but the topmast cross- 
trees. The master-at-arms and all the sentinels 
sunk to rise no more. The cries of them and the 
other drowning men were awful in the extreme; 
and more than half an hour had elapsed before the 
survivors could be taken up by the boats. Among 
the former were Mr. Stewart, John Sumner, Richard 
Skinner, and Henry Hillbraut, the whole of whom 
perished with their hands still in manacles. 

" On this melancholy occasion Mr. He3 r wood was 
the last person but three who escaped from the 
prison, into which the water had already found its 
way through the bulkhead scuttles. Jumping over- 
board, he seized a plank, and was swimming towards 
a small sandy quay (key) about three miles distant, 
when a boat picked him up, and conveyed him thither 
in a state of nudity. It is worthy of remark, that 
James Morrison endeavoured to follow his young 



THE PANDORA. 151 

companion's example, and, although handcuffed, 
managed to keep afloat until a boat came to his 
assistance." 

This account would appear almost incredible. It 
is true men are sometimes found to act the part of 
inhuman monsters, but then they are generally ac- 
tuated by some motive or extraordinary excitement : 
here, however, there was neither ; but, on the con- 
trary, the condition of the poor prisoners appealed 
most forcibly to the mercy and humanity of their 
jailer. The surgeon of the ship states, in his ac- 
count of her loss, that as soon as the spars, booms, 
hencoops, and other buoyant articles were cut loose, 
" the prisoners were ordered to be let out of irons." 
One would imagine, indeed, that the officers on 
this dreadful emergency would not be witness to 
such inhumanity without remonstrating effectually 
against keeping these unfortunate men confined a 
moment beyond the period when it became evident 
that the ship must sink. It will be seen, however, 
presently, from Mr. Heywood's own statement, that 
they were so kept, and that the brutal and unfeeling 
conduct which has been imputed to Captain Edwards 
is but too true. 

It is an awful moment when a ship takes her last 
heel, just before going down. When the Pandora 
sunk, the surgeons say, " the crew had just time to 
leap overboard, accompanying it with a most dread- 
ful yell. The cries of the men drowning in the 
water were at first awful in the extreme ; but as they 
sunk and became faint, they died away by degrees." 
How accurately has Byron described the whole pro- 
gress of a shipwreck to the final catastrophe ! He 
might have been a spectator of the Pandora at the 
moment of her foundering, when 

She gave a heel, and then a lurch to port, 

And, going down head foremost— sunk 



Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell ! 
Then shriek'd the timid and stood still the brave • 



152 THE PANDORA. 

Then some leap'd overboard with dreadful yell, .j 

As eager to anticipate their grave; 
And the sea yawn'd around her like a hell, 

And down she suck'd with her the whirling wave, 
Like one who grapples with his enemy, 
And strives to strangle him before he die. 

And first one universal shriek there rush'd 

Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash 
Of echoing thunder; and then all was hush'd, 

Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash 
Of billows ; but at intervals there gush'd, 

Accompanied with a convulsive splash, 
A solitary shriek— the bubbling cry 
Of some strong swimmer in his agony. 

On the sandy key which fortunately presented 
itself the shipwrecked seamen hauled up the boats, 
to repair those that wer& damaged and to stretch 
canvass round the gunwales, the better to keep out 
the sea from breaking into them. The heat of the 
sun and the reflection from the sand are described as 
excruciating, and the thirst of the men was rendered 
intolerable, from their stomachs being filled with salt- 
water in the length of time they had to swim before 
being picked up. Mr. Hamilton says, they were 
greatly disturbed in the night by the irregular be- 
haviour of one of the seamen, named Conneli, which 
made them suspect he had got drunk with some 
wine that had been saved ; but it turned out that the 
excruciating torture he suffered from thirst had in- 
duced him to drink salt-water ; " by which means he 
went mad, and died in the sequel of the voyage." 
It seems, a small keg of water, and some biscuits 
had been thrown into one of the boats, which they 
found by calculation would be sufficient to last six- 
teen days, on an allowance of two wineglasses of 
water per day to each man, and a very small quan- 
tity of bread, the weight of which was accurately 
ascertained by a musket-ball and a pair of wooden 
scales made for each boat. 

The crew and the prisoners were now distributed 
among the four boats. At Bligh's "Mountainous 
Island" they entered a bay where swarms of natives 



THE PANDORA. 153 

came down and made signs for their landing- ; but 
this they declined to do ; on which an arrow was 
discharged and struck one of the boats ; and as the 
savages were seen to be collecting their bows and 
arrows, a volley of muskets, a few of which hap- 
pened to be in the boats, was discharged, which put 
them to flight. While sailing among the islands and 
near the shore, they now and then stopped to pick 
up a few oysters and procure a little fresh water. 
On the 2d September they passed the north-west 
point of New-Holland, and launched into the great 
Indian Ocean, having a voyage of about a thousand 
miles still to perform. 

It will be recollected that Captain Bligh's people 
received warmth and comfort by wringing out their 
clothes in salt water. The same practice was adopted 
by the crews of the Pandora's boats ; but the doctor 
observes, that " this wetting their bodies with salt 
water is not advisable, if protracted beyond three or 
four days, as after that time the great absorption 
from the skin that takes place taints the fluids with 
the bitter part of salt water, so that the saliva be- 
comes intolerable in the mouth." Their mouths, 
indeed, he says, became so parched, that few at- 
tempted to eat the slender allowance of bread. He 
also remarks, that as the sufferings of the people 
continued, their temper became cross and savage. 
In the captain's boat, it is stated, one of the muti- 
neers took to praying ; but that " the captain, sus- 
pecting the purity of his doctrines, and unwilling that 
he should have a monopoly of the business, gave 
prayers himself." 

On the 13th they saw the island of Timor, and the 
next morning landed and got some water and a few 
small fish from the natives ; and on the night of the 
15th anchored opposite the fort of Coupang. No- 
thing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of 
the governor and other Dutch officers of this settle- 
ment, in affording every possible assistance and 



154 THE PANDORA. 

relief in their distressed condition. Having remained 
here three weeks, they embarked on the 6th of Oc- 
tober on board the Rembang Dutch Indiaman, and 
on the 30th anchored at S am arang, where they were 
agreeably surprised to find their little tender, which 
they had so long given up for lost. On the 7th 
November they arrived at Batavia, where Captain 
Edwards agreed with the Dutch East India Company, 
to divide the whole of the ship's company and 
prisoners among four of their ships proceeding to 
Europe. The latter the captain took with him in 
the Vreedenburgh ; but finding his majesty's ship 
Gorgon at the Cape, he transhipped himself and 
prisoners, and proceeded in her to Spithead, where 
he arrived on the 19th June, 1792. 

Captain Edwards in his meager narrative takes 
no more notice of his prisoners with regard to the 
mode in which they were disposed of at Coupang 
and Batavia, than he does when the Pandora went 
down. In fact, he suppresses all information re- 
specting them from the day in which they were 
consigned to " Pandora's Box." From this total in- 
difference towards these unfortunate men and their 
almost unparalleled sufferings, Captain Edwards 
must be set down as a man whose only feeling was 
to stick to the letter of his instructions, and rigidly 
to adhere to what he considered the strict line of his 
duty ; thai he was a man of a cold phlegmatic dis- 
position, whom no distress could move, and whose 
feelings were not easily disturbed by the sufferings 
of his fellow-creatures. He appears to have been 
one of those mortals who might say with Manfred — 

My spirit walk'd not with the souls of men ; 

* * * * * * * 

My joys, my griefs, my passions, and my powers 
Made me a stranger ; though I wore the form, 
I had no sympathy with breathing flesh ! 

There seems to have been a general feeling at and 
before the court-martial, that Captain Edwards had 



THE PANDORA. 155 

exeicised a harsh, unnecessary, and undue degree 
of severity on his prisoners. It is the custom, 
sanctioned no doubt by long usage, to place in irons 
all such as may have been guilty of mutiny in a ship 
of war, and the necessity of so doing is obvious 
enough — to prevent in the most effectual manner 
communication with the rest of the ship's company, 
who might be contaminated by their intercourse with 
such mischievous and designing men ; men whose 
crime is of that die that, if found guilty, they have 
little hope to escape the punishment of death, to 
which a mutineer must by the naval articles of war 
be sentenced ; no alternative being left to a court- 
martial in such a case but to pronounce a sentence 
of acquittal or of death. 

In the present case, however, most of the prisoners 
had surrendered themselves; many of them had 
taken no active part in the mutiny ; and others had 
been forcibly compelled to remain in the ship. It 
was not likely, therefore, that any danger could 
arise from indulging them occasionally and in turns 
with a few hours of fresh air on deck. As little 
danger was there of their escaping ; where indeed 
could they escape to, especially when the ship was 
going down, at a great distance from any shore, and 
the nearest one known to be inhabited by savages 1 
All or most of them were desirous of getting home, 
and throwing themselves on God and their country. 
The captain, however, had no " compunctious visit- 
ings of nature" to shake his purpose, which seems 
to have been to keep them strictly in irons during 
the whole passage, and to deliver them over in that 
state on his arrival in England. 

Perhaps the circumstance of the crime of piracy 
being superadded to that of mutiny, may have ope- 
rated on his stern nature, and induced him to inflict 
a greater severity of punishment than he might 
otherwise have done, and which he certainly did far 
beyond the letter and spirit of his instructions. He 



156 THE PANDORA. 

might have considered, that in all ages and among 
all nations, with the exception of some of the Greek 
states,* piracy has been held in the utmost abhor- 
rence, and those guilty of it treated with singular 
and barbarous severity; and that the most sangui- 
nary laws were established for the protection of per- 
son and property in maritime adventure. The laws 
of Oleron, which were composed under the imme- 
diate direction of our Richard I., and became the 
common usage among maritime states whose ves- 
sels passed through British seas, are conceived in a 
spirit of the most barbarous cruelty. f Thus, if a 
poor pilot through ignorance lost the vessel, he was 
either required to make full satisfaction to the mer- 
chant for damages sustained, or to lose his head. 
In the case of wrecks, where the lord of the coast 
(something like our present vice-admiral) should be 
found to be in league with the pilots, and run the 
ships on rocks in order to get salvage, the said 
lord, the salvers, and all concerned are declared to 
be accursed and excommunicated, and punished as 
thieves and robbers ; and the pilot condemned to be 
hanged upon a high gibbet, which is to abide and 
remain to succeeding ages on the place where 
erected, as a visible caution to other ships sailing 
thereby. Nor was the fate of the lord of the coast 
less severe, — his property was to be confiscated, and 
himself fastened to a post in the midst of his own 
mansion, which, being fired at the four corners, were 

* The Phoceans, on account of the sterility of their country, were in 
the habit of practising piracy, which, according to Justin, was held to be 
an honourable profession. 

t These laws are contained in an ancient authentic book, called " The 
Black Book of the Admiralty," in which all things therein comprehended 
are engrossed on vellum, in an ancient character; which has been from 
time to time kept in the registry of the High Court of Admiralty for the 
use of the judges. When Mr. Luders made inquiry at the office in 
Doctors' Commons, in 1808, he was informed by the proper officers there 
that they had never seen such book, and knew nothing of it, nor where 
to find it. The fact is, the book in question was put into Lord Thurlow's 
hands when attorney-general, and never returned. There is a copY of it 
in the Admiralty 



THE PANDORA. 157 

all to be burned together ; the walls thereof demol- 
ished, and the spot on which it stood be converted 
into a market-place for the sale only of hogs and 
swine, to all posterity. 

These and many other barbarous usages were 
transferred into the institutions of Wisbuy, which 
formed the jus mercatorum for a long period, and in 
which great care was taken for the security of ships 
against their crews. Among other articles are the 
following: — Whoever draws a sword upon the master 
of a vessel, or wilfully falsifies the compass, shall 
have his right hand nailed to the mast. Whoever 
behaves riotously shall be punished by being keel- 
hauled. Whoever is guilty of rebellion (or mutiny) 
shall be thrown overboard. 

For the suppression of piracy, the Portuguese, in 
their early intercourse with India, had a summary 
punishment, and accompanied it with a terrible 
example, to deter others from the commission of 
the crime. Whenever they took a pirate ship, they 
instantly hanged every man, carried away the sails, 
rudder, and every thing that was valuable in the 
ship, and left her to be buffeted about by the winds 
and the waves, with the carcasses of the criminals 
dangling from the yards, a horrid object of terror to 
all who might chance to fall in with her. Even to 
this day a spice of the laws of Oleron still remains 
in the maritime code of European nations, as far 
as regards mutiny and piracy ; and a feeling of this 
kind may have operated on the mind of Captain 
Edwards, especially as a tendency even to mutiny, 
or mutinous expressions, are considered, by the usage 
of the service, as justifying the commander of a 
ship of war to put the offenders in irons. Besides, 
the treatment of Bligh, whose admirable conduct 
under the unparalleled sufferings of himself and all 
who accompanied him in the open boat, had roused 
the people of England to the highest pitch of indig- 
O 



158 THE PANDORA. 

nation against Christian and his associates, in which 
Edwards no doubt participated. 

The following letter of Mr. Peter Heywood to 
his mother removes all doubt as to the character 
and conduct of this officer. It is an artless and 
pathetic tale, and, as his amiable sister says, 
"breathes not a syllable inconsistent with truth and 
honour." 

" Batavia, November 20th, 1791. 
" My ever-honoured and dearest Mother, 
" At length the time has arrived when you are 
once more to hear from your ill-fated son, whose 
conduct at the capture of that ship in which it was 
my fortune to embark has, I fear, from what has 
since happened to me, been grossly misrepresented 
to you by Lieutenant Bligh, who, by not knowing 
the real cause of my remaining on board, naturally 
suspected me, unhappily for me, to be a coadjutor in 
the mutiny ; but I never, to my knowledge, while 
under his command, behaved myself in a manner 
unbecoming the station I occupied, nor so much as 
even entertained a thought derogatory to his honour, 
so as to give him the least grounds for entertaining 
an opinion of me so ungenerous and undeserved ; 
for I flatter myself he cannot give a character of 
my conduct, while I was under his tuition, that could 
merit the slightest scrutiny. Oh ! my dearest mo- 
ther, I hope you have not so easily credited such an 
account of me ; do but let me vindicate my conduct, 
and declare to you the true cause of my remaining 
in the ship, and you will then see how little I deserve 
censure, and how I have been injured by so gross 
an aspersion. I shall then give you a short and 
cursory account of what has happened to me since ; 
but I am afraid to say a hundredth part of what I 
have got in store, for I am not allowed the use of 
writing materials, if known, so that this is done by 
stealth; but if it should ever come to your hands, it 



THE PANDORA. 159 

will, I hope, have the desired effect of removing 
your uneasiness on ray account, when I assure you, 
before the face of God, of my innocence of what is 
laid to my charge. How I came to remain on board 
was thus : — 

" The morning the ship was taken, it being my 
watch below, happening to awake just after day- 
light, and looking out of my hammock, I saw a man 
sitting upon the arm-chest in the main hatchway, 
with a drawn cutlass in his hand, the reason of 
which I could not divine ; so I got out of bed and 
inquired of him what was the cause of it. He told 
me that Mr. Christian, assisted by some of the ship's 
company, had seized the captain and put him in con- 
finement ; had taken the command of the ship, and 
meant to carry Bligh home a prisoner, in order to 
try him by court-martial for his long tyrannical and 
oppressive conduct to his people. I was quite 
thunderstruck; and hurrying into my berth again, 
told one of my messmates, whom I awakened out 
of his sleep, what had happened. Then dressing 
myself, I went up the fore-hatchway, and saw what 
he had told me was but too true ; and again I asked 
some of the people who were under arms what 
was going to be done with the captain, who was 
then on the larboard side of the quarter-deck, with 
his hands tied behind his back, and Mr. Christian 
alongside him with a pistol and drawn bayonet. I 
now heard a very different story, and that the cap- 
tain was to be sent ashore to Tofoa in the launch, 
and that those who would not join Mr. Christian, 
might either accompany the captain, or would be 
taken in irons to Otaheite and left there. Th& 
relation of two stories so different left me unable 
to judge which could be the true one ; but seeing 
them hoisting the boats out, it seemed to prove the 
latter. 

" In this trying situation, young and inexperienced 
as I was, and without an adviser (every person being. 



160 THE PANDORA. 

as it were, infatuated, and not knowing what to do), 
I remained for a while a silent spectator of what 
was going- on ; and after revolving the matter in my 
mind, I determined to choose what I thought the 
less of two evils, and stay by the ship ; for I had 
no doubt that those who went on shore in the 
launch would be put to death by the savage natives, 
whereas the Otaheitans being a humane and generous 
race, one might have a hope of being kindly received, 
and remain there until the arrival of some ship, 
which seemed, to silly me, the most consistent with 
reason and rectitude. 

"While this resolution possessed my mind, at the 
same time lending my assistance to hoist out the 
boats, the hurry and confusion affairs were in, and 
thinking my intention just, I never thought of going 
to Mr. Bligh for advice ; besides, what confirmed 
me in it was, my seeing two experienced officers, 
when ordered into the boat by Mr. Christian, desire 
his permission to remain in the ship, (one of whom 
my own messmate, Mr. Hayward,) and I being as- 
sisting to clear the launch of yams, he asked me 
what I intended to do ; I told him, to remain in the 
ship. Now this answer, I imagine, he has told Mr. 
Bligh I made to him ; from which, together with my 
not speaking to him that morning, his suspicions of 
me have arisen, construing my conduct into what is 
foreign to my nature. 

" Thus, my dearest mother, it was all owing to 
my youth and unadvised inexperience, but has been 
interpreted into villany and disregard of my coun- 
try's laws, the ill effects of which I at present, and 
still am to labour under for some months longer. 
And now, after what I have asserted, I may still 
once more retrieve my injured reputation, be again 
reinstated in the affection and favour of the most 
tender of mothers, and be still considered as her ever 
dutiful son. 

" I was not undeceived in my erroneous decision 



THE PANDORA. 161 

till too late, which was after the captain was in the 
launch ; for while I was talking to the master-at- 
arms, one of the ringleaders in the affair, my other 
messmate whom I had left in his hammock in the 
berth (Mr. Stewart) came up to me, and asked me 
if I was not going in the launch. I replied, No ; 
upon which he told me not to think of such a thing 
as remaining behind, but take his advice, and go down 
below with him to get a few necessary things, and 
make haste to go with him into the launch ; adding, 
that by remaining in the ship I should incur an 
equal share of guilt with the mutineers themselves. 
I reluctantly followed his advice — I say reluctantly, 
because I knew no better, and was foolish ; and the 
boat swimming very deep in the water — the land 
being far distant — the thoughts of being sacrificed 
by the natives — and the self-consciousness of my 
first intention being just — all these considerations 
almost staggered my resolution; however, I pre- 
ferred my companion's judgment to my own, and 
we both jumped down the main-hatchway to prepare 
ourselves for the boat — but no sooner were we in 
the berth, than the master-at-arms ordered the 
sentry to keep us both in the berth till he should 
receive orders to release us. We desired the mas- 
ter-at-arms to acquaint Mr. Bligh of our intention, 
which we had reason to think he never did, nor were 
we permitted to come on deck until the launch was 
a long way astern. I now, when too late, saw my 
error. 

" At the latter end of May, we got to an island 
to the southward of Taheite, called Tooboui, where 
they intended to make a settlement, but finding no 
stock there of any kind, they agreed to go to Ta- 
heite, and, after procuring hogs and fowls, to return 
to Tooboui and remain. So, on the 6th June we 
arrived at Taheite, where I was in hopes I might 
find an opportunity of running away, and remaining 
on shore, but I could not effect it, as there was 
02 



162 THE PANDORA. 

always too good a look-out kept to prevent any such 
steps being taken. And besides they had all sworn 
that should any one make his escape, they would 
force the natives to restore him, and would then 
shoot him as an example to the rest ; well knowing, 
that anyone by remaining there might be the means 
(should a ship arrive) of discovering their intended 
place of abode. Finding it therefore impracticable, 
I saw no other alternative but to rest as content as 
possible and return to Tooboui, and there wait till 
the masts of the Bounty should be taken out, and 
then take the boat which might carry me to Taheite, 
and disable those remaining from pursuit.* But 
Providence so ordered it, that we had no occasion 
to try our fortune at such a hazard, for, upon return- 
ing there and remaining till the latter end of August, 
in which time a fort was almost built, but nothing 
could be effected ; and as the natives could not be 
brought to friendly terms, and with whom we had 
many skirmishes, and narrow escapes from being 
cut off by them, and, what was still worse, internal 
broils and discontent, — these things determined part 
of the people to leave the island and go to Taheite, 
which was carried by a majority of votes. 

"This being carried into execution on the 22d 
September, and having anchored in Matavai Bay, 
the next morning my messmate (Mr. Stewart) and 
I went on shore, to the house of an old landed pro- 
prietor, our former friend ; and being now set free 
from a lawless crew, determ ined to remain as much 
apart from them as possible, and wait patiently for 
the arrival of a ship. Fourteen more of the Boun- 
ty's people came likewise on shore, and Mr. Chris- 
tian and eight men went away with the ship, but 
God knows whither. While we remained here, we 

* Morrison mentions, in his journal, a plan to this effect, contrived 
by Hey wood, Stewart, and himself, but observes, " It was a foolish 
attempt, as, had we met with bad weather our crazy boat wouid cer- 
tainly have made us a coffin. " 



THE PANDORA. 163 

were treated by our kind and friendly natives with a 
generosity and humanity almost unparalleled, and 
such as we could hardly have expected from the 
most civilized people. 

" To be brief— having remained here till the latter 
end of March, 1791, on the 26th of that month his 
majesty's ship Pandora arrived, and had scarcely 
anchored, when my messmate and I went on board 
and made ourselves known; and having learned from 
one of the natives who had been off in a canoe, that 
our former messmate Mr. Hayward, now promoted 
to the rank of lieutenant, was on board, we asked 
for him, supposing he might prove the assertions of 
our innocence. But he (like all worldlings when 
raised a little in life) received us very coolly, and 
pretended ignorance of our affairs; yet formerly, 
he and I were bound in brotherly love and friend- 
ship. Appearances being so much against us, we 
were ordered to be put in irons, and looked upon — 
oh, infernal words ! — as piratical villains. A rebuff 
so severe as this was, to a person unused to trou- 
bles, would perhaps have been insupportable ; but to 
me, who had now been long inured to the frowns of 
fortune, and feeling myself supported by an inward 
consciousness of not deserving it, it was received 
with the greatest composure, and a full determina- 
tion to bear it with patience. 

"My sufferings, however, I have not power to 
describe ; but though they are great, yet I thank God 
for enabling me to bear them without repining. I 
endeavour to qualify my affliction with these three 
considerations, first, my innocence not deserving 
them; secondly, that they cannot last long; and 
thirdly, that the change may be for the better. The 
first improves my hopes, the second my patience, 
and the third my courage. I am young in years, 
but old in what the world calls adversity ; and it has 
had such an effect, as to make me consider it the 
most beneficial incident that could have occurred at 



164 THE PANDORA. 

my age. It has made me acquainted with three 
things which are little known, and as little believed 
by any but those who have felt their effects : first, 
the villany and censoriousness of mankind ; sec- 
ondly, the futility of all human hopes ; and thirdly, 
the happiness of being content in whatever station 
it may please Providence to place me. In short, it 
has made me more of a philosopher, than many years 
of a life spent in ease and pleasure would have 
done. 

" As they will no doubt proceed to the greatest 
lengths against me, I being the only surviving officer, 
and they most inclined to believe a prior story, all 
that can be said to confute it will probably be looked 
upon as mere falsity and invention. Should that be 
my unhappy case, and they resolved upon my de- 
struction as an example to futurity, may God enable 
me to bear my fate with the fortitude of a man, con- 
scious that misfortune, not any misconduct, is the 
cause, and that the Almighty can attest my inno- 
cence. Yet why should I despond ? I have, I hope, 
still a friend in that Providence which hath pre- 
served me amid many greater dangers, and upon 
whom alone I now depend for safety. God will 
always protect those who deserve it. These are 
the sole considerations which have enabled me to 
make myself easy and content under my past mis- 
fortunes. 

" Twelve more of the people who were at Ota- 
heite having delivered themselves up, there was a 
sort of prison built on the after-part of the quarter- 
deck, into which we were all put in close confine- 
ment, with both legs and both hands in irons, and 
were treated with great rigour, not being allowed 
ever to get out of this den ; and, being obliged to 
eat, drink, sleep, and obey the calls of nature here, 
you may form some idea of the disagreeable situa- 
tion I must have been in, unable as I was to help 
myself (being deprived of the use of both my legs 



THE PANDORA. 165 

and hands), but by no means adequate to the 
reality. 

" On the 9th May we left Otaheite, and proceeded 
to the Friendly Islands, and about the beginning of 
August got in among the reefs of New-Holland, to 
endeavour to discover a passage through them ; but 
it was not effected, for the Pandora, ever unlucky, 
and as if devoted by Heaven to destruction, was 
driven by a current upon the patch of a reef, and on 
which, there being a heavy surf, she was soon 
almost bulged to pieces ; but having thrown all the 
guns on one side overboard, and the tide flowing at 
the same time, she beat over the reef into a basin, 
and brought up in fourteen or fifteen fathoms ; but 
she was so much damaged while on the reef, that 
imagining she would go to pieces every moment, we 
had contrived to wrench ourselves out of our irons, 
and applied to the captain to have mercy on us, and 
suffer us to take our chance for the preservation of 
our lives ; but it was all in vain — he was even so 
inhuman as to order us all to be put in irons again, 
though the ship was expected to go down every mo- 
ment, being scarcely able to keep her under with all 
the pumps at work. 

"In this miserable situation, with an expected 
death before our eyes, without the least hope of 
relief, and in the most trying state of suspense, we 
spent the night, the ship being by the hand of Provi- 
dence kept up till the morning. The boats by this 
time had all been prepared ; and as the captain and 
officers were coming upon the poop or roof of our 
prison, to abandon the ship, the water being then up 
to the combings of the hatchways, we again im- 
plored his mercy ; upon which he sent the corporal 
and an armourer down to let some of us out of 
irons, but three only were suffered to go up, and the 
scuttle being then clapped on, and the master-at- 
arms upon it, the armourer had only time to let two 
persons out of iron i, the rest, except three, letting 



166 THE PANDORA. 

themselves out ; two of these three went down with 
them on their hands, and the third was picked up. 
She now began to keel over to port so very much, 
that the master-at-arms, sliding overboard, and 
leaving the scuttle vacant, we all tried to get up, and 
I was the last out but three. The water was then 
pouring in at the bulk-head scuttles, yet I succeeded 
in getting out, and was scarcely in the sea when I 
could see nothing above it but the cross-trees, and 
nothing around me but a scene of the greatest dis- 
tress. I took a plank (being stark-naked) and swam 
towards an island about three miles off, but was 
picked up on my passage by one of the boats. When 
we got ashore to the small sandy key, we found 
there were thirty-four men drowned, four of whom 
were prisoners, and among these was my unfortu- 
nate messmate (Mr. Stewart) ; ten of us, and eighty- 
nine of the Pandora's crew, were saved. 

" When a survey was made of what provisions 
had been saved, they were found to consist of two 
or three bags of bread, two or three beakers of 
water, and a little wine ; so we subsisted three days 
upon two wine glasses of water, and two ounces of 
bread per day. On the 1st September we left the 
island, and on the 16th arrived at Coupang in the 
island of Timor, having been on short allowance 
eighteen days. We were put in confinement in the 
castle, where we remained till October, and on the 
5th of that month were sent on board a Dutch ship 
bound for Batavia. 

" Though I have been eight months in close con- 
finement in a hot climate, I have kept my health in a 
most surprising manner, without the least indispo- 
sition, and am still perfectly well in every respect, in 
mind as well as body ; but without a friend, and only 
a shirt and pair of trousers to put on, and carry me 
home. Yet with all this I have a contented mind, 
entirely resigned to the will of Providence, which 



THE PANDORA. 167 

conduct alone enables me to soar above the reach 
of unhappiness." 

In a subsequent letter to his sister he says, " I 
send you two little sketches of the manner in which 
his majesty's ship Pandora went down on the 29th 
August, and of the appearance which we who sur- 
vived made on the small sandy key within the reef, 
about ninety yards long and sixty broad, in all 
ninety-nine souls; here we remained three days, 
subsisting on a single wineglass of wine or water, 
and two ounces of bread a day, with no shelter from 
the meridian and then vertical sun. Captain Ed- 
wards had tents erected for himself and his people, 
and we prisoners petitioned him for an old sail 
which was lying useless, part of the wreck, but he 
refused it ; and the only shelter we had was to bury 
ourselves up to the neck in the burning sand, which 
scorched the skin entirely off our bodies, for we 
were quite naked, and we appeared as if dipped in 
large tubs of boiling water. We were nineteen 
days in the same miserable situation before we 
landed at Coupang. I was in the ship, in irons, 
hands and feet, much longer than till the position 
you now see her in, the poop alone being above 
water (and that knee deep), when a kind Provi 
dence assisted me to get out of irons and escape 
from her." 

The treatment of these unhappy men was almost 
as bad at Batavia as in the Pandora, being closely 
confined in irons in the castle, and fed on very bad 
provisions; and the hardships they endured on their 
passage to England, in Dutch ships, were very 
severe, having, as he says, slept on nothing but hard 
boards on wet canvass, without any bed, for seven- 
teen months, always subsisting on short allowance 
of execrable provisions, and without any clothes for 
some time, except such as the charity of two young 
men in the ship supplied him with. He had during 
his confinement at Batavia learned to make straw 



168 THE PANDORA. 

hats, and finished several with both his hands in 
fetters, which he sold for half a crown apiece ; and 
with the produce of these he procured a suit of 
coarse clothes, in which, with a cheerful and light 
heart, notwithstanding all his sufferings, he arrived 
at Portsmouth. How he preserved his health under 
the dreadful sufferings he endured, and in eight 
months' close confinement in a hot climate, is quite 
wonderful. 

On the second day after the arrival of the Gorgon 
at Spithead the prisoners were transferred to the 
Hector, commanded by Captain (the late Admiral 
Sir George) Montague, where they were treated 
with the greatest humanity, and every indulgence 
allowed that could with propriety be extended to 
men in their unhappy situation, until the period 
when they were to be arraigned before the com- 
petent authority, and put on their trials for mutiny 
and piracy, which did not take place until the month 
of September. 

In this period of anxious and awful suspense, a 
most interesting correspondence was carried on be- 
tween this unfortunate youth and his numerous 
friends, which exhibits the character of himself and 
the whole family in the most amiable and affec- 
tionate colours, and in a more particular manner, of 
that adorable creature, his sister Nessy, who, in 
one of her letters, accounts for the peculiar warmth 
of her attachment and expressions by their being 
nearly of the same age, and engaged in the same 
pursuits, whether of study or amusement, in their 
juvenile years. The poor mother, on hearing of 
his arrival, thus addresses her unfortunate son : 

"Isle of Man, June 29th, 1792. 

" Oh ! my ever dearly-beloved and long-lost son, 

with what anxiety have I waited for this period ! I 

have counted the days, hours, and even minutes since 

I first heard of the horrid and unfortunate mutiny 



THE PANDORA. 169 

which has so long deprived me of my dearest boy : 
but now the happy time is come when, though I 
cannot have the unspeakable pleasure of seeing and 
embracing you, yet I hope we may be allowed to 
correspond ; surely there can be nothing improper 
in a liberty of this sort between an affectionate 
mother and her dutiful and beloved son, who, I am 
perfectly convinced, was never guilty of the crime 
he has been suspected of by those who did know 
his worth and truth. I have not the least doubt but 
that the all gracious God, who of his good provi- 
dence has protected you so long, and brought you 
safe through so many dangers and difficulties, will 
still protect you, and at your trial make your inno- 
cence appear as clear as the light. All your letters 
have come safe to me, and to my very dear good 
Nessy. Ah! Peter, with what real joy did we all 
receive them, and how happy are we that you are 
now safe in England ! I will endeavour, my dearest 
lad, to make your present situation as comfortable 
as possible, for so affectionate and good a son de- 
serves my utmost attention. Nessy has written to 
our faithful and kind friend, Mr. Heywood, of Ply- 
mouth, for his advice, whether it would be proper 
for her to come up to you ; if he consents to her so 
doing, not a moment shall be lost, and how happy 
shall I be when she v is with you ! Such a sister as 
she is ! Oh ! Peter, she is a most valuable girl," &c. 
On the same day this " most valuable girl" thus 
writes : — * 

* The following shows how much her fond mind was fixed on her 
unfortunate brother : 

O71 the Arrival of my dearly-beloved Brother, Peter Heywood. inEng 
land, written while a Prisoner, and waiting the Event of his Trial on 
board his Majesty's Ship Hector. 

Come, gentle' Muse, I woo thee once again, 
Nor woo thee now in melancholy strain ; 
Assist my verse in cheerful mood to flow, 
Nor let this tender bosom Anguish know j 
P 



170 THE PANDORA. 

" My dearest and most beloved brother, — Thanks 
to that Almighty Providence which has so mira- 
culously preserved you, your fond, anxious, and, till 
now, miserable Nessy, is at last permitted to ad- 
dress the object of her tenderest affection in Eng- 
land ! Oh ! my admirable, my heroic boy, what 
have we felt on your account ! yet how small, how 
infinitely trifling was the misery of our situation 
when compared with the horror of yours ! Let me 
now, however, with confidence hope that the God 
of all mercies has not so long protected you in vain, 
but will at length crown your fortitude and pious 
resignation to his will with that peace and happiness 
you so richly merit. How blest did your delightful 
and yet dreadful letter from Batavia make us all ! 
Surely, my beloved boy, you could not for a mo- 
ment imagine we ever supposed you guilty of the 
crime of mutiny. No, no ; believe me, no earthly 
power could have persuaded us that it was possible 
for you to do any thing inconsistent with strict 
honour and duty. So well did we know your ami- 
able, steady principles, that we were assured your 

Fill all my soul with notes of Love and Joy, 
No more let Grief each anxious thought employ. 
With Rapture now alone this heart shall burn, 
A.nd Joy, my Lycidas, for thy return ! 
Return'd with every charm, accomplish'd youth, 
Adorn'd with Virtue, Innocence, and Truth ; 
Wrapp'd in thy conscious merit still remain, 
Till I behold thy lovely form again. 
Protect him, Heav'n, from dangers and alarms, 
And oh ! restore him to a sister's arms ; 
Support his fortitude in that dread hour 
When he must brave Suspicion's cruel pow'r ; 
Grant him to plead with Eloquence divine, 
In ev'ry word let Truth and Honour shine ; 
Through each sweet accent let Persuasion flow ; 
With manly firmness let his bosom glow, 
Till strong Conviction, in each face express'd, 
Grants a reward by Honour's self confess'd. 
Let thy Omnipotence preserve him still, 
And all his future days with Pleasure fill ; 
And oh ! kind Heav'n, though now in chains he be, 
Restore him soon to Friendship, Love, and me. 
August 5th, 1792, Isle of Man. Nessy Hkywoob. 



THE PANDORA. 171 

reasons for staying behind would turn out such as 
you represent them ; and I firmly trust that Provi- 
dence will at length restore you to those dear and 
affectionate friends, who can know no happiness 
until they are blessed with your loved society. 
Take care of your precious health, my angelic boy. 
I shall soon be with you ; I have written to Mr. 
Heywood (your and our excellent friend and pro- 
tector) for his permission to go to you immediately, 
which my uncle Heywood, without first obtaining 
it, would not allow, fearing lest any precipitate step 
might injure you at present ; and I only wait the 
arrival of his next letter to fly into your arms. Oh ! 
my best beloved Peter, how I anticipate the rapture 
of that moment! — for alas ! I have no joy, no hap- 
piness, but in your beloved society, and no hopes, 
no fears, no wishes, but for you." 

Mr. Heywood's sisters all address their unfor- 
tunate brother in the same affectionate, but less im- 
passioned strain ; and a little trait of good feeling 
is mentioned, on the part of an old female servant, 
that shows what a happy and attached family the 
Heywoods were, previous to the melancholy affair 
in which their boy became entangled. Mrs. Hey- 
wood says, " My good honest Birket is very well, 
and says your safe return has made her more happy 
than she has been for these two-and-forty years 
she has been in our family." And Miss Nessy tells 
him, " Poor Birket, the most faithful and worthiest 
of servants, desires me to tell you that she almost 
dies with joy at the thought of your safe arrival in 
England. What agony, my dear boy, has she felt 
on your account ; her affection for you knows no 
bounds, and her misery has indeed been extreme ; 
but she still lives to bless your virtues." 

The poor prisoner thus replies, from his majesty's 
ship Hector, to his " beloved sisters all :" — 

" This day I had the supreme happiness of your 
long expected letters, and I am not able to express 



172 THE PANDORA. 

the pleasure and joy they afforded me"; at the sight 
of them my spirits, low and dejected, were at once 
exhilarated ; my heart had long and greatly suffered 
from my impatience to hear of those most dear to 
me, and was tossed and tormented by the storms of 
fearful conjecture — but they are now subsided, and 
my bosom has at length attained that long-lost 
serenity and calmness it once enjoyed; for you 
may believe me when I say it never yet has suffered 
any disquiet from my own misfortunes, but from a 
truly anxious solicitude for, and desire to hear of, 
your welfare. God be thanked, you still entertain 
such an opinion of me as I will natter myself I have 
deserved ; but why do I say so 1 can I make myself 
too worthy the affectionate praises of such pmiable 
sisters ] Oh ! my Nessy, it grieves me to think I 
must be under the necessity, however heart-break- 
ing to myself, of desiring you will relinquish your 
most affectionate design of coming to see me ; it is 
too long and tedious a journey, and even on your 
arrival you would not be allowed the wished-for 
happiness, both to you and myself, of seeing, much 
less conversing with, your unfortunate brother: the 
rules of the service are so strict, that prisoners are 
not permitted to have any communication with 
female relations ; thus even the sight of, and con- 
versation with, so truly affectionate a sister is for 
the present denied me ! The happiness of such an 
interview let us defer till a time (which, please God, 
will arrive) when it can be enjoyed with more free- 
dom, and unobserved by the gazing eyes of an inquisi- 
tive world, which in my present place of confine- 
ment would of course not be the case. 

" I am very happy to hear that poor old Birket is 
still alive ; remember me to her, and tell her not to 
heave aback, until God grants me the pleasure of 
seeing her. 

"And now, my dear Nessy, cease 'to anticipate 
the happiness of personal communication with your 



THE PANDORA. 173 

poor but resigned brother, until wished-for freedom 
removes the indignant shackles I now bear from 
the feet of your fond and most affectionate brother, 

" P. H." 

In a subsequent letter to his sister he says, " Let 
us at present be resigned to our fate, contented 
with this sort of communication, and be thankful 
to God for having even allowed us that happiness — 
for be assured the present confinement is liberty, com- 
pared with what it has been for the fifteen months 
last past." On the 15th July, Commodore Pasley 
addresses the following business-like letter to Miss 
Heywood. 

" I received your letter, my dearest Nessy, with 
the enclosure [her brother's narrative], but did not 
choose to answer it until I had made a thorough 
investigation ; that is, seen personally all the prin- 
cipal evidences, which has ever since occupied my 
whole thoughts and time. I have also had some 
letters from himself; and notwithstanding he must 
still continue in confinement, every attention and 
indulgence possible is granted him by Captain Mon- 
tague of the Hector, who is my particular friend. 
I have no doubt of the truth of your brother's nar- 
rative ; the master, boatswain, gunner, and carpen- 
ter, late of the Bounty, I have seen, and have the 
pleasure to assure you that they are all favourable, 
and corroborate what he says. That fellow, Cap- 
tain Edwards, whose inhuman rigour of confinement 
I shall never forget, I have likewise seen ; he can- 
not deny that Peter avowed himself late of the 
Bounty when he came voluntarily aboard ; this is 
a favourable circumstance. I have been at the 
Admiralty, and read over all the depositions taken 
and sent home by Bligh and his officers from Ba- 
tavia, likewise the court-martial on himself; in 
none of which appears any thing against Peter. As 
soon as Lieutenant Hayward arrives with the re- 
P2 



174 THE PANDORA. 

mainder of the Pandora's crew, the court-martial 
is to take place. I shall certainly attend, and we 
must have an able counsellor to assist, for I will 
not deceive you, my dear Nessy, however favour- 
able circumstances may appear, our martial law is 
severe; by the tenor of it, the man who stands 
neuter is equally guilty with him who lifts his arm 
against his captain in such cases. His extreme 
youth and his delivering himself up are the strong 
points of his defence. Adieu ! my dearest Nessy ; 
present my love to your mother and sisters, and 
rest assured of my utmost exertions to extricate 
your brother. 

" Your affectionate uncle, 

" T. Pasley." 

This excellent man did not stop here : knowing 
that sea-officers have a great aversion from counsel, 
he writes to say, " A friend of mine, Mr. Graham, 
who has been secretary to the different admirals 
on the Newfoundland station for these twelve years, 
and consequently has acted as judge-advocate at 
courts-martial all that time, has offered me to at- 
tend )^ou ; he has a thorough knowledge of the ser- 
vice, uncommon abilities, and is a very good lawyer. 
He has already had most of the evidences with him. 
Adieu ! my young friend ; keep up your spirits, and 
rest assured I shall be watchful for your good. My 
heart will be more at ease if I can get my friend 
Graham to go down, than if you were attended by 
the first counsel in England."* Mr. Graham accor- 
dingly attended, and was of the greatest service at 
the trial. 

Nessy Heywoodf having in one of her letters 
inquired of her brother how tall he was, and having 

* The late Aaron Graham, Esq., the highly respected police magistrate 
in London. 

t Till the moment of the trial, it will readily be supposed that every 
thought of this amiable young lady was absorbed in her brother's fate. 
In this interval the following lines appear to have been written :— 



THE PANDORA. 175 

received information on this point, expressed some 
surprise that he was not taller. " And so," he re- 

On receiving information by a letter from my ever dearly loved brother 
Peter Hey wood, that his trial was soon to take place. 
Oh ! gentle Hope ! with eye serene, 

And aspect ever sweetly mild ; 
Who deck'st with gayest flow'rs each scene, 

In sportive, rich luxuriance wild. 
Thou— soother of corroding care, , 

Wh^n sharp affliction's pangs we feel, 
Teachest with fortitude to bear, 

And know'st deep sorrow's wounds to heal. 
Thy timid vot'ry now inspire, 

Thy influence, in pity, lend ; 
With confidence this bosom fire, 

Till anxious, dread suspense shall end. 
Let not fear invade my breast, 

My Lycidas no terror knows ; 
With conscious innocence he's bless'd, 

And soon will triumph o'er his foes. 
Watch him, sweet Pow'r, with looks benign ; 

Possession of his bosom keep ; 
While waking, make each moment shine, 

With fancy gild his hours of sleep. 
Protect him still, nor let him dread 

The awful, the approaching hour, 
When on his poor devoted head 

Fell slander falls with cruel power. 
Yet, gentle Hope, deceive me not, 

Nor with deluding smiles betray ; 
Be honour's recompense his lot, 

And glory crown each future day ! 
And oh ! support this fainting heart 

With courage till that hour is past, 
When, freed from envy's fatal dart, 

His innocence shines forth at last : 
Then, my loved Lycidas, we'll meet, 

Thy miseries and trials o'er; 
With soft delight thy heart shall beat, 

And hail with joy thy native shore ! 
Then will each hour with rapture fly, 

Then sorrow's plaintive voice will cease; 
No care shall cause the heaving sigh, 

But all our days be crown'd with peace. 
With love and fond affection bless'd, 

No more shall grief our bliss destroy; 
No pain disturb each faithful breast, 

But rapture all and endless joy ! 
Hie of Man, August 22, 1792 Nessy Heywooo 



176 THE PANDORA. 

plies, "you are surprised I am not taller! — Ah, 
Nessy ! let me ask you this — suppose the last two 
years of your growth had been retarded by close 
confinement, — nearly deprived of all kinds of neces- 
sary aliment — shut up from the all-cheering light 
of the sun for the space of five months, and never 
suffered to breathe the fresh air (an enjoyment which 
Providence denies to none of his creatures) during 
all that time — and without any kind of exercise to 
stretch and supple your limbs — besides many other 
inconveniences which I will not pain you by men- 
tioning — how tall should you have been, my dear 
sister 1 — answer, four feet nothing ; but enough of 
nonsense." 

Nessy Heywood had expressed a strong desire to 
see her brother, but was told the rules of the service 
would not allow it ; also, that it would agitate him, 
when he ought to be cool and collected, to meet his 
approaching trial. This was quite enough : — " But 
as for myself," she says, " no danger, no fatigue, 
no difficulties would deter me — I have youth, and 
health, and excellent natural spirits — these and the 
strength of my affection would support me through 
it all; if I were not allowed to see you, yet being 
in the same place which contains you would be 
joy inexpressible ! I will not, however, any longer 
desire it, but will learn to imitate your fortitude and 
patience." 

Mr. Heywood of Maristow, and his daughter, 
Mrs. Bertie, had intimated the same thing. These 
excellent people, from the moment of young Hey- 
wood's arrival, had shown him every kindness, sup- 
plied him with money, and, what was better, with 
friends, who could give him the best advice. To 
this worthy lady, Miss Nessy Heywood thus ad- 
dresses herself. 

" Overwhelmed with sensations of gratitude and 
pleasure, which she is too much agitated to express, 



THE PANDORA. 177 

permit me, dearest madam, at my mamma's request, 
to offer you hers and our most sincere acknow- 
ledgments for your invaluable letter, which, from 
the detention of the packet, she did not receive till 
yesterday. By a letter from my beloved brother of 
the same date, we are informed that Mr. Larkham 
(who I suppose to be the gentleman you mention 
having sent to see him) has been on board the Hec- 
tor, and has kindly offered him the most salutary 
advice relative to his present situation, for which 
allow me to request you will present him our best 
thanks. He also speaks with every expression a 
grateful heart can dictate of your excellent father's 
goodness in providing for all his wants, even before 
he could have received any letters from us to that 
purpose. 

" Ah ! my dear madam, how truly characteristic 
is this of the kind friendship with which he has ever 
honoured our family ! But my beloved Peter does 
not know that Mr. Heywood has a daughter whose 
generosity is equal to his own, and whose amiable 
compassion for his sufferings it will be as impossible 
for us to forget, as it is to express the admiration 
and gratitude it has inspired. It would, I am con- 
vinced, be unnecessary, as well as a very bad compli- 
ment to you, madam, were I to presume to point out 
any thing particular to be done for our poor boy, as 
I have not the least doubt your goodness and kind 
intention have long ago rendered every care of that 
sort on our part unnecessary. I shall only add, that 
my mammabegs every wish he forms may be granted ; 
and sure I am, he will not desire a single gratifi- 
cation that can be deemed in the smallest degree 
improper. 

" In one of my brother's letters, dated the 23d, he 
hints that he shall not be permitted to see any of his 
relations till his trial is over, and that he therefore 
does not expect us. I have, however, written to Mr. 
Heywood (without whose approbation I would by 



178 THE PANDORA. 

ho means take any step) for permission to go to 
him. If it is absolutely impossible for me to see 
him (though in the presence of witnesses), yet even 
that prohibition, cruel as it is, I could bear with pa- 
tience, provided I might be near him, to see the ship 
in which he at present exists — to behold those ob- 
jects which, perhaps, at the same moment attract his 
notice — to breathe the same air which he breathes. 
— Ah ! my dearest madam, these are inestimable 
gratifications, and would convey sensations of rap- 
ture and delight to the fond bosom of a sister, which 
it is far, very far beyond my power to describe. 
Besides, the anxiety and impatience produced by the 
immense distance which now separates us from him, 
and the uncertainty attending the packet, render it 
difficult and sometimes impossible to hear of him so 
often as we would wish ; and, may I not add (though 
Heaven in its mercy forbid it — for, alas ! the bare 
idea is too dreadful, yet it is in the scale of possi- 
bility), that some accident might happen to deprive 
us of my dearest brother : how insupportably bitter 
would then be our reflections, for having omitted the 
opportunity when it was in our power of administer- 
ing comfort and consolation to him in person. For 
these reasons I earnestly hope Mr. Heywood will 
not judge it improper to comply with my request, 
and shall wait with eager impatience the arrival of 
his next letter. Think not, my dear madam, that it 
is want of confidence in your care and attention 
which makes me solicitous to be with my beloved 
brother. Be assured we are all as perfectly easy in 
that respect as if we were on the spot ; but I am 
convinced you will pardon the dictates of an affec- 
tion which an absence of five years, rendered still 
more painful by his sufferings, has heightened almost 
to a degree of adoration. I shall with your per- 
mission take the liberty of enclosing a letter to my 
brother, which I leave open for perusal, and at the same 
time request your pardon for mentioning you to him 



THE PANDORA. 179 

in such terms as I am apprehensive will wound the 
delicacy which ever accompanies generosity like 
yours ; but indeed, my dearest madam, I cannot, 
must not suffer my beloved boy to remain in igno- 
rance of that worth and excellence which has 
prompted you to become his kind protectress. 

" I have the honour to be, with every sentiment 
of gratitude, &c. &c. &c, 

" Nessy Heywood." 

Among the numerous friends that interested them- 
selves in the fate of this unhappy youth was his 
uncle Colonel Holwell. The testimony he bears to 
his excellent character is corroborated by all who 
knew him while a boy at home. About a fortnight 
before the trial he writes to him thus : — 

"2lst August, 1792. 
" My ver}' dear Peter, 
" I have this day received yours of the 18th, and 
am happy to find by its contents, that notwithstand- 
ing your long and cruel confinement you still pre- 
serve your health, and write in good spirits. Pre- 
serve it, my dear boy, awful as the approaching 
period must be even to the most innocent, but from 
which all who know you have not a doubt of your 
rising as immaculate as a new-born infant. I have 
known you from your cradle, and have often marked 
with pleasure and surprise the many assiduous in- 
stances (far beyond your years) you have given of 
filial duty and paternal affection to the best of pa- 
rents, and to brothers and sisters who doted on you. 
Your education has been the best ; and from these 
considerations alone, without the very clear evidence 
of your own testimony, I would as soon believe the 
Archbishop of Canterbury would set fire to the city 
of London as suppose you could, directly or indi- 
rectly, join in such a d — d absurd piece of business. 
Truly sorry am I that my state of health will not 



180 THE PANDORA. 

permit me to go down to Portsmouth, to give this 
testimony publicly before that respectable tribunal 
where your country's laws have justly ordained you 
must appear ; but consider this as the touchstone, my 
dear boy, by which your worth must be known. Six 
years in the navy myself and twenty-eight years a 
soldier, I natter myself my judgment will not prove 
erroneous. That Power, my dear Peter, of whose 
grace and mercy you seem to have so just a sense, 
will not now forsake you. Your dear aunt is as 
must be expected in such a trying situation, but 
more from your present sufferings than any appre- 
hension of what is to follow,"- &c. 

With similar testimonies and most favourable 
auguries from Commodore Pasley, the Rev. Dr. 
Scott of the Isle of Man, and others, young Hey- 
wood went to his long and anxiously expected trial, 
which took place on the 12th September, and con- 
tinued to the 18th of that month. Mrs. Hey wood 
had been anxious that Erskine and Mingay should be 
employed as counsel, but Mr. Graham, whom Com- 
modore Pasley had so highly recommended, gave his 
best assistance ; as did also Mr. Const, who had 
been retained, for which the commodore expresses 
his sorrow, as sea officers, he says, have a great 
aversion to lawyers. Mr. Peter Heywood assigns a 
better reason ; in a letter to his sister Mary he says, 
that " Counsel to a naval prisoner is of no effect, and 
as they are not allowed to speak, their eloquence is 
not of the least efficacy ; I request, therefore, you 
will desire my dear mother to revoke the letter she 
has been so good to write to retain Mr. Erskine and 
Mr. Mingay, and to forbear putting herself to so great 
and needless an expense from which no good can 
accrue. No, no ! Mary, it is not the same as a trial 
on shore ; it would then be highly requisite ; but in 
this case I alone must fight my own battle ; and I 
think my telling the truth undisguised, in a plain, 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 181 

short, and concise manner, is as likely to be de- 
serving the victory as the most elaborate eloquence 
of a Cicero upon the same subject." 

At this anxious moment many painfully interest- 
ing letters passed to and from the family in the Isle 
of Man : the last letter from his beloved Nessy pre- 
vious to the awful event thus concludes : — " May that 
Almighty Providence whose tender care has hitherto 
preserved you be still your powerful protector ! may 
he instil into the hearts of your judges every senti- 
ment of justice, generosity, and compassion ! may 
hope, innocence, and integrity be your firm support ! 
and liberty, glory, and honour your just reward! 
may all good angels guard you from even the ap- 
pearance of danger! and may you at length be re- 
stored to us, the delight, the pride of your adoring 
friends, and the sole happiness and felicity of that 
fond heart which animates the bosom of my dear 
Peter's most faithful and truly affectionate sister, 

" N. H." 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 



" If any person in or belonging to the fleet shall make, or endeavour to 
make, any mutinous assembly upon any pretence whatsoever, every per- 
son offending herein, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the 
court-martial, shall suffer Death."— Naval Articles of War, Art. 19. 

The court assembled to try the prisoners on board 
his majesty's ship Duke, on the 12th September, 
1792, and continued by adjournment from day to 
day (Sunday excepted) until the 18th of the same 
month.* 

* The minutes being very long, a brief abstract only, containing the 
principal points of evidence, is here given. 

Q 



182 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

PRESENT, 
Vice Admiral Lord Hood, President. 
Capt. Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, Bart 
" John Colpoys, 
" Sir George Montagu, 
" Sir Roger Curtis, 
" John Bazeley, 
" Sir Andrew Snape Douglas, 
; " John Thomas Duckworth, 

" John Nicholson Inglefield, 
" John Knight, 
" Albemarle Bertie, 
" Richard Goodwin Keats. 

The charges set forth, that Fletcher Christian, 
who was mate of the Bounty, assisted by others of 
the inferior officers and men, armed with muskets 
and bayonets, had violently and forcibly taken that 
ship from her commander, Lieutenant Bligh; and 
that he, together with the master, boatswain, gun- 
ner, and carpenter, and other persons (being nine- 
teen in number), were forced into the launch and 
cast adrift ;— that Captain Edwards in the Pandora 
was directed to proceed to Otaheite and other islands 
in the South Seas, and to use his best endeavours to 
recover the said vessel, and to bring in confinement 
to England the said Fletcher Christian and his asso- 
ciates, or as many of them as he might be able to 
apprehend, in order that they might be brought to 
condign punishment, &c. ; — that Peter Heywood, 
James Morrison, Charles Norman, Joseph Coleman, 
Thomas Ellison, Thomas M'lntosh, Thomas Burkitt, 
John Millward, William Muspratt, and Michael Byrne, 
had been brought to England, &c, and were now put 
on their trial. 

Mr. Fryer, the master of the Bounty, being first 
sworn, deposed — 

That he had the first watch ; that between ten and 
eleven o'clock Mr. Bligh came on deck according to 
custom, and after a short conversation, and having 
given his orders for the night, left the deck ; that at 
twelve he was relieved by the gunner, and retired, 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 183 

leaving all quiet ; that at dawn of day he was greatly- 
alarmed by an unusual noise ; and that, on attempt- 
ing to jump up, John Sumner and Matthew Quintal 
laid their hands upon his breast and desired him to 
lie still, saying he was their prisoner ; that on ex- 
postulating with them, he was told, "Hold your 
tongue, or you are a dead man ; but if you remain 
quiet there is none on board will hurt a hair of your 
head :" he further deposes, that on raising himself 
on the locker, he saw on the ladder, going upon 
deck, Mr. Bligh in his shirt, with his hands tied be- 
hind him, and Christian holding him by the cord ; 
that the master-at-arms, Churchill, then came to his 
cabin and took a brace of pistols and a hanger, say- 
ing, " I will take care of these, Mr. Fryer ;" that he 
asked, on seeing Mr. Bligh bound, what they were 
going to do with the captain ; that Sumner replied, 
" D — n his eyes, put him into the boat, and let the 

. see if he can live upon three-fourths of a pound 

of yams a day ;" that he remonstrated with such con- 
duct, but in vain. They said he must go in the small 
cutter. " The small cutter !" Mr. Fryer exclaimed ; 
*' why her bottom is almost out, and very much eaten 
by the worms !" to which Sumner and Quintal both 
said, " D — n his eyes, the boat is too good for him ;" 
that after much entreaty he prevailed on them to ask 
Christian if he might be allowed to go on deck, 
which after some hesitation was granted. When I 
came on deck, says Mr. Fryer, Mr. Bligh was stand- 
ing by the mizen-mast with his hands tied behind 
him, and Christian holding the cord with one hand 
and a bayonet in the other. I said, " Christian, con- 
sider what you are about." " Hold your tongue, 
sir," he said ; " I have been in hell for weeks past ; 
Captain Bligh has brought all this on himself," I 
told him that Mr. Bligh and he not agreeing was no 
reason for taking the ship. " Hold your tongue, sir," 
he said. I said, " Mr. Christian, you and I have 
been on friendly terms during the voyage, therefore 



184 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

give me leave to speak, — let Mr. Bligh go down to 
his cabin, and I make no doubt we shall all be friends 
again :" he then repeated, " Hold your tongue, sir ; it 
is too late ;" and threatening me if I said any thing 
more. Mr. Fryer then asked him to give a better 
boat than the cutter ; he said, " No, that boat is good 
enough." Bligh now said to the master, that the 
man behind the hencoops (Isaac Martin) was his 
friend, and desired him (the master) to knock Chris 
tian down, which Christian must have heard, but 
took no notice ; that Fryer then attempted to get 
past Christian to speak to Martin, but he put his 
bayonet to his breast, saying, " Sir, if you advance 
an inch farther I will run you through," and ordered 
two armed men to take him down to his cabin. 
Shortly afterward he was desired to go on deck, 
when Christian ordered him into the boat : he said, 
" I will stay with you, if you will give me leave." 
" No, sir," he replied, " go directly into the boat." 
Bligh, then on the gangway, said, " Mr. Fryer, stay 
in the ship." " No, by G — d, sir," Christian said, 
" go into the boat, or I will run you through." Mr. 
Fryer states, that during this time very bad language 
was used by the people towards Mr. Bligh; that 
with great difficulty they prevailed on Christian to 
suffer a few articles to be put into the boat ; that 
after the persons were ordered into the boat to the 
number of nineteen, such opprobrious language con- 
tinued to be used, several of the men calling out, 

" Shoot the ;" that Cole, the boatswain, advised 

they should cast off and take their chance, as the 
mutineers would certainly do them a mischief if 
they staid much longer. Mr. Fryer then states the 
names of those who were under arms ; and that Jo- 
seph Coleman, Thomas M'lntosh, Charles Norman, 
and Michael Byrne (prisoners) wished to come into 
the boat, declaring they had nothing to do in the 
business ; that he did not perceive Mr. Peter Hey- 
wood on deck at the seizure of the ship. 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 185 

On being asked what he supposed Christian meant 
when he said he had been in hell for a fortnight ? 
he said, from the frequent quarrels that they had, 
and the abuse he had received from Mr. Bligh, and 
that the day before the mutiny Mr. Bligh had chal- 
lenged all the young gentlemen and people with 
stealing his cocoanuts. 

Mr. Cole, the boatswain, deposes, — that he had the 
middle watch ; was awakened out of his sleep in 
the morning, and heard a man calling out to the 
carpenter, that they had mutinied and taken the ship ; 
that Christian had the command, and that the cap- 
tain was a prisoner on the quarter-deck ; that he 
went up the hatchway, having seen Mr. Hey wood 
and Mr. Young in the opposite berth ; that coming 
on deck, he saw the captain with his hands tied be- 
hind him, and four sentinels standing over him, two 
of which were Ellison and Burkitt, the prisoners ; 
that he asked Mr. Christian what he meant to do, 
and was answered by his ordering him to hoist the 
boat out, and shook the bayonet, threatening him and 
damning him if he did not take care ; that when he 
found the captain was to be sent out of the ship, he 
again went aft with the carpenter to ask for the 
long-boat ; that they asked three or four times be- 
fore he granted it ; that he saw Mr. Peter Hey- 
wood, one of the prisoners, lending a hand to get the 
fore-stayfall along, and when the boat was hooked 
on, spoke something to him, but what it was does 
not know, as Christian was threatening him at the 
time ; that Heywood then went below, and does not 
remember seeing him afterward ; that after the few 
things were got into the boat, and most of the peo- 
ple in her, they were trying for the carpenter's tool- 
chest, when Quintal said, " D — n them, if we let 
them have these things they will build a vessel in a 
month ;" but when all were in the boat she was 
veered astern, when Coleman, Norman and M'Intosh, 
prisoners, were crying at the gangway, wishing to 
Q2 



186 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

go in the boat ; and Byrne, in the cutter alongside, 
was also crying ; that he advised Mr. Bligh to cast 
off, as he feared they would fire into the boat. 

The Court asked if he had any reason to believe 
that any other of the prisoners than those named 
were detained contrary to their inclinations 1 An- 
swer — " I believe Mr. Hey wood was ; I thought all 
along he was intending to come away ; he had no 
arms, and he assisted to get the boat out, and then 
went below ; I heard Churchill call out, ' Keep them 
below.' " The Court — " Do you think he meant 
Hey wood ?" " I have no reason to think any other." 

Mr. Peckover the gunner's evidence is similar to 
that of Mr. Cole's, and need not be detailed. 

Mr. Purcell, the carpenter, corroborated, gene- 
rally, the testimony of the three who had been ex- 
amined. The Court asked, " Did you see Mr. Hey- 
wood standing upon the booms ?" " Yes ; he was 
leaning the flat part of his hand on a cutlass, when 
I exclaimed, ' In the name of God, Peter what do you 
with that V when he instantly dropped it, and assisted 
in hoisting the launch out, and handing the things 
into the boat, and then went down below, when I 
heard Churchill call to Thompson to keep them be- 
low, but could not tell whom he meant ; I did not 
see Mr. Heywood after that." The Court — " In 
what light did you look upon Mr. Heywood at the 
time you say he dropped the cutlass on your speak- 
ing to him V* Witness — " I looked upon him as a 
person confused, and that he did not know he had 
the weapon in his hand, or his hand being on it, for 
it was not in his hand ; I considered him to be con- 
fused, by his instantly dropping it, and assisting in 
hoisting the boat out, which convinced me in my 
own mind that he had no hand in the conspiracy ; 
that after this he went below, as I think, on his own 
account, in order to collect some of his things to put 
into the boat." The Court — " Do you, upon the 
solemn oath you have taken, believe that Mr. Hey- 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 187 

wood, by being - armed with a cutlass at the time you 
have mentioned, by any thing that you could collect 
from his gestures or speeches, had any intention of 
opposing, or joining others that might oppose, to stop 
the progress of the mutiny ?" Witness-—" No." 
The Court — "In the time that Mr. Heywood was 
assisting you to get the things into the boat, did he, 
in any degree whatever, manifest a disposition to 
assist in the mutiny?" Witness — "No." The 
Court — "Was he, during that time, deliberate or 
frightened, and in what manner did he behave him- 
self?" Witness — "I had not an opportunity of ob- 
serving his every action, being myself at that time 
engaged in getting several things into the boat, so 
that I cannot tell." The Court — " Putting every cir- 
cumstance together, declare to this court, upon the 
oath you have taken, how you considered his be- 
haviour, whether as a person joined in the mutiny, 
or as a person wishing well to Captain BlighT' 
Witness — " I by no means considered him as a per- 
son concerned in the mutiny or conspiracy." 

Lieutenant Thomas Hay ward, late third lieutenant 
of the Pandora, and formerly midshipman of the 
Bounty, deposes, that he had the morning watch ; 
that at four o'clock Fletcher Christian relieved the 
watch as usual; that at five he ordered him, as 
master's mate of his watch, to look out, while he 
went down to lash his hammock up; that while 
looking at a shark astern of the ship, to his unut- 
terable surprise he saw Fletcher Christian, Charles 
Churchill, Thomas Burkitt (the prisoner), John 
Sumner, Matthew Quintal, William M'Koy, Isaac 
Martin, Henry Hillbrandt, and Alexander Smith, 
coming aft, armed with muskets and bayonets ; that 
on going forward, he asked Christian the cause of 
such an act, who told him to hold his tongue in- 
stantly ; and leaving Isaac Martin as a sentinel on 
deck, he proceeded with the rest of his party below, 
to Lieutenant Bligh's cabin ; that the people on deck 



188 THE COURT-MARTIAL, 

were Mr. John Hallet, myself, Robert Lamb, Butcher^ 
Thomas Ellison (prisoner) at the helm, and John 
Mills at the conn ; that he asked Mills if he knew 
any thing of the matter, who pleaded total igno- 
rance, and Thomas Ellison quitted the helm and 
armed himself with a bayonet ; that the decks now 
became thronged with armed men ; that Peter Hey- 
wood, James Morrison (two of the prisoners), and 
George Stewart were unarmed on the booms ; that 
Fletcher Christian and his gang had not been down 
long before he heard the cry of murder from Lieu- 
tenant Bligh, and Churchill calling out for a rope, on 
which Mills, contrary to all orders and entreaties, 
cut the deep-sea line, and carried a piece of it to 
their assistance ; that soon after Lieutenant Bligh 
was brought upon the quarter-deck with his hands 
bound behind him, and was surrounded by most of 
those who came last on deck. 

This witness then states, that on the arrival of the 
Pandora at Matavai Bay, Joseph Coleman was the 
first that came on board ; that he was upset in a 
canoe, and assisted by the natives ; that as soon as 
the ship was at anchor, George Stewart and Peter 
Heywood came on board; that they made them- 
selves known to Captain Edwards, and expressed 
their happiness that he was arrived ; that he asked 
them how they came to go away with his majesty's 
ship the Bounty, when George Stewart said, when 
called upon hereafter he would answer all particu- 
lars; that he was prevented by Captain Edwards 
from answering further questions, and they were sent 
out of the cabin to be confined. He then describes 
the manner in which the rest of the mutineers were 
taken on the island. Having stated that when he 
went below to get some things he saw Peter Hey- 
wood in his berth, and told him to go into the boat, 
he was asked by the Court if Heywood was prevented 
by any force from going upon deck, he answered, 
" No." The Court—' 1 Did you, from his behaviour, 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 189 

consider him as a person attached to his duty, or to 
the party of the mutineers ?" Witness — " I should 
rather suppose, after my having told him to go into 
the boat, and he not joining us, to be on the side of 
the mutineers ; but that must be understood only as 
an opinion, as he was not in the least employed 
during the active part of it." The Court — " Did you 
observe any marks of joy or sorrow on his counte- 
nance or behaviour ?" Witness — " Sorrow." 

Lieutenant Hallet, late midshipman of the Bounty, 
states, — that he had the morning-watch ; that he 
heard Lieutenant Bligh call out murder, and pres- 
ently after saw him brought upon deck naked, ex- 
cepting his shirt, with his hands tied behind him, 
and Christian holding the end of the cord which tied 
them in one hand, and either a bayonet or a cutlass 
in the other ; that the cutter was hoisted out, and 
Mr. Samuel, Mr. Hayward, and myself ordered to go 
into her ; but the boatswain and carpenter going aft, 
and telling Christian they wished to go with the 
captain rather than stay in the ship, and asking to 
have the launch, it was granted. On being asked if 
he saw Peter Heywoqd on that day, he replied, 
once, on the platform, standing still, and looking at- 
tentively towards Captain Bligh ; never saw him 
under arms, nor spoke to him ; does not know if he 
offered to go in the boat, nor did he hear any one 
propose to him # to go in the boat ; that when stand- 
ing on the platform, Captain Bligh said something to 
him, but what he did not hear, upon which Hey wood 
laughed, turned round, and walked away. 

Captain Edwards, being then called and sworn, was 
desired by the Court to state the conversation that 
passed between him and Coleman, Peter Heywood, 
and George Stewart when they came on board the 
Pandora. 

Edwards — "Joseph Coleman attempted to come 
on board before the ship came to an anchor at Ota- 
heite ; he was soon afterward taken up by canoes, 



190 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

and came on board before the ship came to an an- 
chor; I began to make inquiries of him after the 
Bounty and her people. The next who came on 
board were Stewart and Peter Heywood ; they came 
after the ship was at anchor, but before any boat 
was on shore. I did not see them come alongside. 
I desired Lieutenant Larkin to bring them down to 
the cabin. I asked them what news ; Peter Hey- 
wood, I think, said he supposed I had heard of the 
affair of the Bounty. I don't recollect all the con- 
versation that passed between us; he sometimes 
interrupted me by asking for Mr. Hay ward, the lieu- 
tenant of the Pandora, whether he was on board or 
not — he had heard that he was ; at last I acknow- 
ledged that he was, and I desired him to come out 
of my state-room, where I had desired him to go into, 
as he happened to be with me at the time. Lieuten- 
ant Hayward treated him with a sort of contemptu- 
ous look, and began to enter into conversation with 
him respecting the Bounty, but I called the sentinel 
in to take them into custody, and ordered Lieuten- 
ant Hayward to desist, and I ordered them to be put 
into irons : some words passed, and Peter Heywood 
said he should be able to vindicate his conduct. 

Lieutenant Corner, of the Pandora, merely states 
his being sent to bring the rest of the mutineers on 
board, who were at some distance from Matavai 
Bay. 

The prisoners being called on for their defence, 
the witnesses were again separately called and ex- 
amined on the part of the prisoners. 

Mr. Fryer, the master, called in and examined by 
Mr. Heywood. — " If you had been permitted, would 
you have staid in the ship in preference to going into 
the boat V Witness — "Yes." Prisoner — "Had you 
staid in the ship in expectation of retaking her, was 
my conduct such, from the first moment you knew 
me to this, as would have induced you to intrust me 
with your design; and do you believe I would have 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 191 

favoured it, and given you all the assistance in my 
power ?" Witness — " I believe he would : I should 
not have hesitated a moment in asking of him when 
I had had an opportunity of opening my mind to 
him." 

The same question being put to Mr. Cole, the 
boatswain, Mr, Peckover, the gunner, and Mr. Pur- 
cell, the carpenter, they all answered in the affirma- 
tive. 

Mr. Heywood asked, " What was my general con- 
duct, temper, and disposition on board the ship ?" 
Witness — "Beloved by everybody, to the best of 
my recollection." To the same question, Mr. Cole 
answers, " Always a very good character." Mr. 
Pec/cover — "The most amiable, and deserving of 
every one's esteem." Mr. Purcell — " In every respect 
becoming the character of a gentleman, and such as 
merited the esteem of everybody." 

Mr. Cole, being examined, gave his testimony, — 
that he never saw Mr. Heywood armed ; that he did 
not consider him of the mutineers' party ; that he 
saw nothing of levity or apparent merriment in his 
conduct ; that when he was below with Stewart, he 
heard Churchill call out, " Keep them below," and 
that he believes Heywood was one of the persons 
meant — has no doubt of it at all ; that Bligh could not 
have spoken to him when on the booms loud enough 
to be heard ; that Hayward was alarmed, and Hallet 
alarmed; that he by no means considers Heywood 
or Morrison as mutineers. 

Mr. Purcell, being examined, states, — that, re- 
specting the cutlass on which he saw Mr. Hey- 
wood's hand resting, he does not consider him as 
being an armed man ; that he never thought him as of 
the mutineers' party ; that he never heard Captain 
Bligh speak to him ; that he thinks, from his situa- 
tion, he could not have heard him ; that he was by 
no means guilty of levity or apparent merriment • 
that he heard the master-at-arms call out to keep 



192 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

them below; that Mr. Hallet appeared to him to 
be very much confused ; and that Mr. Hay ward like- 
wise appeared to be very much confused. 

The Court asked, — " As you say you did not look 
upon the prisoner as a person armed, to what did 
you allude when you exclaimed, ' Good God, Peter, 
what do you do with that V " Witness — " I look 
upon it as an accidental thing." 

Captain Edivards, being asked by Heywood— " Did 
I surrender myself to you upon the arrival of the 
Pandora at Otaheite ?" Witness — " Not to me, to 
the lieutenant. I apprehend he put himself in my 
power. I always understood he came voluntarily ; 
our boats were not in the water." Prisoner — " Did 
I give you such information respecting - myself and 
the Bounty as afterward proved true ?" Witness — 
" He gave me some information respecting the peo- 
ple on the island, that corroborated with Coleman's. 
I do not recollect the particular conversation, but in 
general it agreed with the account given by Cole- 
man." Prisoner — "When I told you that I went 
away the first time from Otaheite with the pirates, 
did I not at the same time inform you that it was 
not possible for me to separate myself from Chris- 
tian, who would not permit any man of the party to 
leave him at that time, lest, by giving intelligence, 
they might have been discovered whenever a ship 
should arrive V Witness — " Yes, but I do not recol- 
lect the latter part of it, respecting giving intelli- 
gence." 

Mr. Fryer again called in and examined by Mr. 
Morrison. — Mr. Fryer states he saw him assist in 
hoisting out the boats ; that he said to him (Fryer), 
" Go down below." The Court asked, " Whether it 
might not have been from a laudable motive, as sup- 
posing your assistance at that time might have pre- 
vented a more advantageous effort?" Witness — 
" Probably it might : had I staid in the ship, he 
would have been one of the first that I should have 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 193 

opened my mind to, from his good behaviour in the 
former part of the voyage :" states his belief, that 
he addressed him as advice ; and that, in hoisting 
out the boat he was assisting Captain Bligh. 

Mr. Cole, the boatswain, states, that he ordered 
Morrison to go and help them with the cutter ; that 
he told him the boat was overloaded ; that Captain 
Bligh had begged that no more people should go in 
her, and said he would take his chance in the 
ship; that he shook Morrison by the hand, and 
said he would do him justice in England ; that he 
had no reason to suppose him concerned in the 
mutiny. 

Lieutenant Thomas Hayward states, that Morrison 
appeared joyful, and supposed him to be one of the 
mutineers ; on being asked by Morrison if he could 
declare before God and the court that what he stated 
was not the result of a private pique, Witness — 
" Not the result of any private pique, but an opinion 
formed after quitting the ship, from his not coming 
with us, there being more boats than one ; cannot 
say they might have had the cutter." This witness 
was pleased to remember nothing that was in favour 
of the prisoner. 

Lieutenant Hallet states, he saw Morrison under 
arms ; being asked in what part of the ship, he says, 
" I did not see him under arms till the boat was 
veered astern, and he was then looking over the taff- 
rail, and called out, in a jeering manner, 'If my 
friends inquire after me, tell them I am somewhere 
in the South Seas.' " 

Captain Edwards bore testimony that Morrison 
voluntarily surrendered himself. 

Mr. Fryer did not see Morrison armed ; he was in 
his watch, and he considered him a steady, sober, 
attentive, good man ; and acknowledged, that if he 
had remained in the ship, with the view of retaking 
her, Morrison would have been one of the first he 
should have called to his assistance. 
R 



194 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

Mr. Cole gave testimony to his being a man of 
good character, attentive to his duty, and he never 
knew any harm of him. 

Mr. Purcell bore witness to his good character, 
being always diligent and attentive ; did not see him 
under arms on the taffrail ; never heard him use any 
jeering speeches. 

Respecting the prisoner Muspratt, Mr. Cole's evi- 
dence proves that he had a musket in his hands, but 
not till the latter part of the business; it is also 
proved that he assisted in getting things into the 
launch. Mr. Peckover saw him standing on the fore- 
castle doing nothing — he was not armed. 

Lieutenant Hayward saw Muspratt among the 
armed men : was asked, when Captain Bligh used 
the words, " Don't let the boat be overloaded, my 
lads," — " I'll do you justice ;" do you understand the 
latter words, " My lads, I'll do you justice," to apply 
to clothes or to men, whom he apprehended might 
go into the boat 1 Witness — " If Captain Bligh made 
use of the words ' my lads,' it was to the people 
already in the boat, and not to those in the ship." 
The Court — "To whom do you imagine Captain 
Bligh alluded : Avas it, in your opinion, to the men 
in the boat with him, or to any persons then remain- 
ing in the ship V Witness—" To persons remaining 
in the ship." 

Against the prisoners Ellison, Burkitt, and Mill- 
ward the evidence given by all the witnesses so 
clearly and distinctly proved they were under arms 
the whole time, and actively employed against Bligh, 
that it is unnecessary to go into any detail as far as 
they are concerned. 

The Court having called on the prisoners, each 
separately, for his defence, Mr. Heywood delivered 
his as follows : — 

" My lords and gentlemen of this honourable 
court, — Your attention has already been sufficiently 
exercised in the painful narrative of this trial ; it is 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 195 

therefore my duty to trespass further on it as little 
as possible. 

" The crime of mutiny, for which I am now ar- 
raigned, is so seriously pregnant with every danger 
and mischief, that it makes the person so accused, 
in the eyes, not only of military men of every 
description, but of every nation, appear at once 
the object of unpardonable guilt and exemplary ven- 
geance. 

" In such a character it is my misfortune to 
appear before this tribunal, and no doubt I must 
have been gazed at with all that horror and indigna- 
tion which the conspirators of such a mutiny as 
that in Captain Bligh's ship so immediately pro- 
voke ; hard, then, indeed is my fate, that circum- 
stances should so occur to point me out as one of 
them. 

" Appearances, probably, are against me, but they 
are appearances only ; for unless 1 may be deemed 
guilty for feeling a repugnance at embracing death 
unnecessarily, I declare before this court and the 
tribunal of Almighty God, I am innocent of the 
charge. 

" I chose rather to defer asking any questions of 
the witnesses until I heard the whole of the evi- 
dence ; as the charge itself, although I knew it gene- 
rally, was not in its full extent, nor in particular 
points, made known to me before I heard it read by 
the judge advocate at the beginning of the trial; 
and I feel myself relieved by having adopted such a 
mode, as it enables me to set right a few particulars 
of a narrative which I had the honour to transmit 
to the Earl of Chatham, containing an account of 
all that passed on the fatal morning of the 28th of 
April, 1789, but which, from the confusion the ship 
was in during the mutiny, I might have mistaken, or 
from the errors of an imperfect recollection I might 
have misstated ; the difference, however, will now 
be open to correction; and I have great satisfaction 



196 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

in observing, that the mistakes but very slightly re- 
spect my part of the transaction, and I shall conse- 
quently escape the imputation of endeavouring to 
save myself by imposing on my judges. 

" When first this sad event toot place I was sleep- 
ing in my hammock ; nor, till the very moment of 
being awakened from it, had I the least intimation 
of what was going on. The spectacle was as sudden 
to my eyes as it was unknown to my heart, and 
both were convulsed at the scene. 

" Matthew Thompson was the first that claimed 
my attention upon waking : he was sitting as a sen- 
tinel over the arm-chest and my berth, and informed 
me that the captain was a prisoner, and Christian 
had taken the command of the ship. I entreated 
for permission to go upon deck ; and soon after the 
boatswain and carpenter had seen me in my berth, 
as they were going up the fore-hatchway, I followed 
them, as is stated in their evidence. It is not in my 
power to describe my feelings upon seeing the cap- 
tain as I did, who, with his hands tied behind him, 
was standing on the quarter-deck, a little abaft the 
mizen-mast, and Christian by his side. My faculties 
were benumbed, and I did not recover the power of 
recollection, until called to by somebody to take 
hold of the tackle-fall, and assist to get out the 
launch, which I found was to be given to the captain 
instead of the large cutter, already in the water 
alongside the ship. It were in vain to say what 
things I put into the boat, but many were handed in 
by me; and in doing this it was that my hand 
touched the cutlass (for I will not attempt to deny 
what the carpenter has deposed), though, on my 
conscience, I am persuaded it was of momentary 
duration, and innocent as to intention. The former 
is evident from its being unobserved by every wit- 
ness who saw me upon deck, some of whom must 
have noticed it had it continued a single minute; 
and the latter is proved by the only person who took 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 197 

notice of the circumstance, and has also deposed 
that at the moment he beheld me I was apparently 
in a state of absolute stupor. The poison, there- 
fore, carries with it its antidote ; and it seems need- 
less to make any further comment on the subject, 
for no man can be weak enough to suppose, that if I 
had been armed for the purpose of assisting in the 
mutiny, I should have resumed a weapon in the 
moment of triumph, and when the ship was so com- 
pletely in the possession of the party, that (as more 
than one witness has emphatically expressed it) all 
attempts at recovering her would have been im- 
practicable. 

'* The boat and ship, it is true, presented them- 
selves to me without its once occurring that I was 
at liberty to choose, much less that the choice I 
should make would be afterward deemed criminal ; 
and I bitterly deplore that my extreme youth and 
inexperience concurred in torturing me with appre- 
hensions, and prevented me from preferring the 
former ; for as things have turned out, it would have 
saved me from the disgrace of appearing before you 
as I do at this day — it would have spared the sharp 
conflicts of my own mind ever since, and the ago- 
nizing tears of a tender mother and my much- 
beloved sisters. 

" Add to my youth and inexperience, that I was 
influenced in my conduct by the example of my 
messmates, Mr. Hallet and Mr. Hayward, the former 
of whom was very much agitated, and the latter, 
though he had been many years at sea, yet, when 
Christian ordered him into the boat, he was evi- 
dently alarmed at the perilous situation, and so much 
overcome by the harsh command that he actually 
shed tears. 

"My own apprehensions were far from being les- 
sened at such a circumstance as this, and I fearfully 
oeheld the preparations for the captain's departure, 
as the preliminaries of inevitable destruction, which. 
R2 



198 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

although I did not think could be more certain, yet 
I feared would be more speedy, by the least addition 
to their number. 

" To show that I have no disposition to impose 
upon this court by endeavouring - to paint the situa- 
tion of the boat to be worse than it really was, I 
need only refer to the captain's own narrative, 
wherein he says that she would have sunk with 
them on the evening of the 3d May, had it not been 
for his timely caution of throwing out some of the 
stores, and all the clothes belonging to the people, 
excepting two suits for each. 

" Now what clothes or stores could they have 
spared which in weight would have been equal to 
that of two men 1 (for if I had been in her, and the 
poor fellow Norton had not been murdered at 
Tofoa, she would have been encumbered with our 
additional weight) — and if it be true that she was 
saved by those means, which the captain says she 
was, it must follow that if Norton and myself had 
been in her (to say nothing of Coleman, M'Intosh, 
Norman, and Byrne, who, it is confessed, were desi- 
rous of leaving the ship), she must either have gone 
down with us, or, to prevent it, we must have light- 
ened her of the provisions and other necessary arti- 
cles, and thereby have perished for want — dreadful 
alternative ! 

" A choice of deaths to those who are certain of 
dying may be a matter of indifference ; but where, 
on one hand, death appears inevitable, and the means 
of salvation present themselves on the other, how- 
ever imprudent it might be to resort to those means 
in any other less trying situation, I think (and hope 
even at my present time of life) that I shall not be 
suspected of a want of courage for saying, few 
would hesitate to embrace the latter. 

" Such, then, was exactly my situation on board 
the Bounty ; to be starved to death, or drowned, ap- 
peared to be inevitable if I went in the boat ; and 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 199 

surely it is not to be wondered at, if at the age of 
sixteen years, with no one to advise with, and so 
ignorant of the discipline of the service (having 
never been at sea before) as not to know or even 
suppose it was possible that what I should determine 
upon might afterward be alleged against me as a 
crime — I say, under such circumstances, in so trying 
a situation, can it be wondered at if I suffered the 
preservation of my life to be the firsthand to super- 
sede every other consideration. 

" Besides, through the medium of the master, the 
captain had directed the rest of the officers to remain 
on board, in hopes of retaking the ship. Such is 
the master's assertion, and such the report on board, 
and as it accorded with my own wishes for the pre- 
servation of my life, I felt myself doubly justified in 
staying on board, not only as it appeared to be safer 
than going in the boat, but from a consideration also 
of being in the way to be useful in assisting to ac- 
complish so desirable a wish of the captain. 

" Let it not — for God's sake — let it not be argued 
that my fears were groundless, and that the arrival 
of the boat at Timor is a proof that my conduct 
was wrong. This would be judging from the event, 
and I think I have plainly shown, that but for the 
death of Norton at Tofoa, and the prudent order of 
the captain not to overload the boat, neither himself 
nor any of the people who were saved with him 
would at this moment have been alive to have pre- 
ferred any charge against me, or given evidence at 
this trial. 

" If deliberate guilt be necessarily affixed to all 
who continued on board the ship, and that in conse- 
quence they must be numbered with Christian's 
party—in such a strict view of matters it must irre- 
vocably impeach the armourer and two carpenter's 
mates, as well as Martin and Byrne, who certainly 
wished to quit the ship. And if Christian's first in- 
tention of sending away the captain, with a few per- 



200 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

sons only, in the small cutter, had not been given 
up, or if even the large cutter had not been ex- 
changed for the launch, more than half of those who 
did go with him would have been obliged to stay 
with me. Forgetful for a moment of my own mis- 
fortunes, I cannot help being agitated at the bare 
thought of their narrow escape. 

" Everybody must, and I am sure that this court 
will, allow that my case is a peculiarly hard one, 
inasmuch as the running away with the ship is a 
proof of the mutiny having been committed. The 
innocent and the guilty are upon exactly the same 
footing — had the former been confined by sickness, 
without a leg to stand on, or an arm to assist them in 
opposing the mutineers, they must have been put 
upon their trial, and instead of the captain being 
obliged to prove their guilt, it would have been in- 
cumbent upon them to have proved themselves inno- 
cent. How can this be done but negatively ? If all 
who wished it could not accompany the captain, 
they were necessarily compelled to stay with Chris- 
tian ; and being with him, were dependent on him, 
subject to his orders, however disinclined to obey 
them, for force in such a state is paramount to every 
thing. But when, on the contrary, instead of being 
in arms, or obeying any orders of the mutineers, I 
did every thing in my power to assist the captain 
and those who went with him, and by all my actions 
(except in neglecting to do what, if I had done, 
must have endangered the lives of those who were 
so fortunate as to quit the ship) I showed myself 
faithful to the last moment of the captain's stay, 
what is there to leave a doubt in the minds of im- 
partial % and dispassionate men of my being perfectly 
innocent? Happy indeed should I have been if 
the master had staid on board, which he probably 
would have done, if his reasons for wishing to do so 
had not been overheard by the man who was in the 
bread-room. 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 201 

" Captain Bligh in his narrative acknowledges that 
he had left some friends on board the Bounty, and 
no part of my conduct could have induced him to be- 
lieve that I ought not to be reckoned of the number. 
Indeed from his attention to and very kind treatment 
of me personally, I should have been a monster of 
depravity to have betrayed him. The idea alone is 
sufficient to disturb a mind where humanity and 
gratitude have, I hope, ever been noticed as its char- 
acteristic features ; and yet Mr. Hallet has said that 
he saw me laugh at a time when, Heaven knows, 
the conflict in my own mind, independent of the 
captain's situation, rendered such a want of decency 
impossible. The charge in its nature is dreadful, 
but I boldly declare, notwithstanding an internal 
conviction of my innocence has enabled me to en- 
dure my sufferings for the last sixteen months, could 
I have laid to my heart so heavy an accusation, I 
should not have lived to defend myself from it. And 
this brings to my recollection another part of 
Captain Bligh's narrative, in which he says, ' I was 
kept apart from every one, and all I could do was by 
speaking to them in general, but my endeavours 
were of no avail, for I was kept securely bound, and 
no one but the guard was suffered to come near me.' 

"If the captain, whose narrative we may suppose 
to have been a detail of every thing which happened 
could only recollect that he had spoken generally to 
the people, I trust it will hardly be believed that Mr. 
Hallet, without notes, at so distant a period as this, 
should be capable of recollecting that he heard him 
speak to any one in particular ; and here it may not 
be improper to observe, that at the time to which I 
allude, Mr. Hallet (if I am rightly informed) could 
not have been more than fifteen years of age. I 
mean not to impeach his courage, but I think if cir- 
cumstances be considered, and an adequate idea of 
the confused state of the ship can be formed by this 
Court, it will not appear probable that this young 



202 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

gentleman should have been so perfectly unembar- 
rassed as to be able to particularize the muscles of 
a man's countenance, even at a considerable distance 
from him; and what is still more extraordinary is, 
that he heard the captain call to me from abaft the 
mizen to the platform where I was standing, which 
required an exertion of voice, and must have been 
heard and noticed by all who were present, as the 
captain and Christian were at that awful moment the 
objects of every one's peculiar attention; yet he 
who was standing between us, and noticing the 
transactions of us both, could not hear what was 
said. 

" To me it has ever occurred that diffidence is 
very becoming, and of all human attainments a 
knowledge of ourselves is the most difficult ; and if, 
in the ordinary course of life, it is not an easy matter 
precisely to account for our own actions, how much 
more difficult and hazardous must it be, in new and 
momentous scenes, when the mind is hurried and 
distressed by conflicting passions, to judge of an- 
other's conduct; and yet here are two young men, 
who, after a lapse of near four years (in which 
period one of them, like myself, has grown from a 
boy to be a man), without hesitation, in a matter on 
which my life is depending, undertake to account for 
some of my actions, at a time, too, when some of 
the most experienced officers in the ship are not 
ashamed to acknowledge they were overcome by the 
confusion which the mutiny occasioned, and are in- 
capable of recollecting a number of their own trans- 
actions on that day. 

" I can only oppose to such open boldness the 
calm suggestions of reason, and would willingly be 
persuaded that the impression under which this 
evidence has been given is not in any degree open to 
suspicion. I would be understood, at the same time, 
not to mean any thing injurious to the character of 
Mr. Hallet : and for Mr. Hayward, I ever loved him, 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 203 

and must do him the justice to declare, that what- 
ever cause I may have to deplore the effect of his 
evidence, or rather his opinion, for he has deposed 
no fact against me, yet I am convinced it was given 
conscientiously, and with a tenderness and feeling 
becoming a man of honour. 

" But may they not both be mistaken 1 Let it be 
remembered that their long intimacy with Captain 
Bligh, in whose distresses they were partakers, and 
whose sufferings were severely felt by them, natu- 
rally begot an abhorrence towards those whom they 
thought the authors of their misery ; — might they not 
forget that the story had been told to them, and by 
first of all believing, then constantly thinking of it, 
be persuaded at last it was a fact within the compass 
of their own knowledge ] 

" It is the more natural to believe it is so, from 
Mr. Hallet's forgetting what the captain said upon the 
occasion ; which, had he been so collected as he pre- 
tends to have been, he certainly must have heard. 
Mr. Hayward, also, it is evident, has made a mistake 
in point of time as to the seeing me with Morrison 
and Millward upon the booms ; for the boatswain 
and carpenter in their evidence have said, and the 
concurring testimony of every one supports the fact, 
that the mutiny had taken place, and the captain was 
on deck, before they came up, and it was not till 
after that time that the boatswain called Morrison 
and Millward out of their hammocks ; therefore, to 
have seen me at all upon the booms with those two 
men, it must have been long after the time that Mr. 
Hayward has said it was. Again, Mr. Hayward has 
said that he could not recollect the day nor even the 
month when the Pandora arrived at Otaheite. Nei- 
ther did Captain Edwards recollect when, on his 
return, he wrote to the Admiralty that Michael 
Byrne had surrendered himself as one of the 
Bounty's people, but in that letter he reported him 
as having been apprehended, which plainly shows 



204 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

that the memory is fallible to a very great degree 5 
and it is a fair conclusion to draw, that if when the 
mind is at rest, which must have been the case with 
Mr. Hayward in the Pandora, and things of a few 
months' date are difficult to be remembered, it is 
next to impossible, in the state which everybody 
was on board the Bounty, to remember their par- 
ticular actions at the distance of three years and a 
half after they were observed. 

" As to the advice he says he gave me to go into 
the boat, I can only say I have a faint recollection 
of a short conversation with somebody, — I thought 
it was Mr. Stewart ;— but be that as it may, I think 
I may take upon me to say it was on deck, and not 
below ; for on hearing it suggested that I should be 
deemed guilty if I staid in the ship, I went down 
directly, and in passing Mr. Cole, told him, in a low 
tone of voice, that I would fetch a few necessaries in 
a bag and follow him into the boat, which at that 
time I meant to do, but was afterward prevented. 

"Surely I shall not be deemed criminal that I 
hesitated at getting into a boat whose gunnel, when 
she left the ship, was not quite eight inches above the 
surface of the water. And if, in the moment of 
unexpected trial, fear and confusion assailed my 
untaught judgment, and that by remaining in the 
ship I appeared to deny my commander, it was in 
appearance only — it was the sin of my head — -for I 
solemnly assure you before God, that it was not the 
vileness of my heart. 

" I was surprised into my error by a mixture of 
ignorance, apprehension, and the prevalence of ex- 
ample ; and, alarmed as I was from my sleep, there 
was little opportunity and less time for better recol- 
lection. The captain, I am persuaded, did not see 
me during the mutiny, for I retired, as it were, in 
sorrowful suspense, alternately agitated between 
hope and fear, not knowing what to do. The dread 
of being asked by him, or of being ordered by 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 205 

Christian, to go into the boat, — or, which appeared 
to me worse than either, of being desired by the 
latter to join his party, induced me to keep out of 
the sight of both, until I was a second time confined 
in my berth by Thompson, when the determination 
I had made was too late to be useful. 

" One instance of my conduct I had nearly for- 
gotten, which, with much anxiety and great astonish- 
ment, 1 have heard observed upon and considered as a 
fault, though I had imagined it blameless, if not lauda- 
ble — I mean the assistance I gave in hoisting out the 
launch, which, by a mode of expression of the boat- 
swain's, who says I did it voluntarily (meaning that 
I did not refuse rny assistance when he asked me to 
give it), the Court, I am afraid, has considered it as 
giving assistance to the mutineers, and not done with 
a view to help the captain; of which, however, I 
have no doubt of being able to give a satisfactory 
explanation in evidence. 

" Observations on matters of opinion I will en- 
deavour to forbear, where they appear to have been 
formed from the impulse of the moment ; but I shall 
be pardoned for remembering Mr. Hayward's (given, 
I will allow, with great deliberation, and after long 
weighing the question which called for it), which 
cannot be reckoned of that description, for although 
he says he rather considered me as a friend to 
Christian's party, he states that his last words to me 
were, " Peter, go into the boat ;" which words could 
not have been addressed to one who was of the 
party of the mutineers, And I am sure, if the coun- 
tenance is at all an index to the heart, mine must 
have betrayed the sorrow and distress he has so ac- 
curately described. 

" It were trespassing unnecessarily upon the pa- 
tience of the Court, to be giving a tedious history 
of what happened in consequence of the mutiny, 
and how, through one very imprudent step, I was 
unavoidably led into others. 
S 



206 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

" But, amid all this pilgrimage of distress, I had a 
conscience, thank Heaven, which lulled away the 
pain of personal difficulties, dangers, and distress. 
It was this conscious principle which determined 
me not to hide myself as if guilty. No — I wel- 
comed the arrival of the Pandora at Otaheite, and 
embraced the earliest opportunity of freely surren- 
dering myself to the captain of that ship. 

" By his order I was chained and punished with 
incredible severity, though the ship was threatened 
with instant destruction : when fear and trembling 
came on every man on board, in vain, for a long 
time, were my earnest repeated cries, that the 
galling irons might not, in that moment of affrighting 
consternation, prevent my hands from being lifted 
up to Heaven for mercy. 

" But though it cannot fail deeply to interest the 
humanity of this Court, and kindle in the breast of 
every member of it compassion for my sufferings, 
yet as it is not relative to the point, and as I cannot 
for a moment believe that it proceeded from any im- 
proper motive on the part of Captain Edwards, 
whose character in the navy stands high in estima- 
tion both as an officer and a man of humanity, but 
rather that he was actuated in his conduct towards 
me by the imperious dictates of the laws of the 
service, I shall therefore waive it, and say no more 
upon the subject. 

" Believe me, again I entreat you will believe me, 
when in the name of the tremendous Judge of heaven 
and earth (before whose vindictive Majesty I may 
be destined soon to appear), I now assert my inno- 
cence of plotting, abetting, or assisting, either by 
word or deed, the mutiny for which I am tried — for, 
young as I am, I am still younger in the school of 
art and such matured infamy. 

" My parents (but I have only one left, a solitary 
and mournful mother, who is at home weeping and 
trembling for the event of this day), thanks to their 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 207 

fostering care, taught me betimes to reverence God, 
to honour the king, and be obedient to his laws ; 
and at no one time have I resolutely or designedly- 
been an apostate to either. 

" To this honourable Court, then, I now commit 
myself. 

" My character and my life are at your disposal ; 
and as the former is as sacred to me as the latter 
is precious, the consolation or settled misery of a 
dear mother and two sisters, who mingle their tears 
together, and are all but frantic for my situation — 
pause for your verdict. 

" If I am found worthy of life, it shall be improved 
by past experience, and especially taught from the 
serious lesson of what has lately happened ; but if 
nothing but death itself can atone for my pitiable 
indiscretion, I bow with submission and all due re- 
spect to your impartial decision. 

" Not with sullen indifference shall I then medi- 
tate on my doom as not deserving it — no, such be- 
haviour would be an insult to God and an affront to 
man, and the attentive and candid deportment of 
my judges in this place requires more becoming 
manners in me. 

" Yet, if I am found guilty this day, they will not 
construe it, I trust, as the least disrespect offered 
to their discernment and opinion, if I solemnly de- 
clare that my heart will rely with confidence in its 
own innocence, until that awful period when my 
spirit shall be about to be separated from my body, 
to take its everlasting flight, and be ushered into the 
presence of that unerring Judge, before whom all 
hearts are open and from whom no secrets are hid. 

" P. Heywood." 

His witnesses fully established the facts which 
he assumed in this defence. He then delivered to 
the president a paper, of which the following is a 
copy : — 



208 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

" My Lord, — The Court having heard the witnesses 
I have been enabled to call, it will be unnecessary 
to add any thing to their testimony in point of fact, 
or to observe upon it by way of illustration. It is, 
I trust, sufficient to do away any suspicion which 
may have fallen upon me, and to remove every im- 
plication of guilt which, while unexplained, might 
by possibility have attached to me. It is true I 
have, by the absence of Captain Bligh, Simpson, and 
Tinkler, been deprived of the opportunity of laying 
before the Court much that would at least have been 
grateful to my feelings, though I hope not necessary 
to my defence ; as the former must have exculpated 
me from the least disrespect, and the two last would 
have proved, past all contradiction, that I was un- 
justly accused. I might regret that in their absence 
1 have been arraigned, but, thank Heaven, I have 
been enabled, by the very witnesses who were called 
to criminate me, to oppose facts to opinions, and give 
explanation to circumstances of suspicion. 

" It has been proved that I was asleep at the time 
of the mutiny, and waked only to confusion and 
dismay. It has been proved, it is true, that I con- 
tinued on board the ship, but it has been also proved 
I was detained by force ; and to this I must add, I 
left the society of those with whom I was for a 
time obliged to associate, as soon as possible, and 
with unbounded satisfaction resigned myself to the 
captain of the Pandora, to whom I gave myself up, 
to whom I also delivered my journal* (faithfully 
brought up to the preceding day), and to whom I also 
gave every information in my power. I could do 
no more ; for at the first time we were at Otaheite 
it was impossible for me, watched and suspected as 
I was, to separate from the ship. My information 
to Captain Edwards was open, sincere, and unquali- 
fied, and I had many opportunities given me at dif- 

* This journal, it is presumed, must have been lost when the Pan- 
dora was wrecked. 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 209 

ferent times of repeating - it. Had a track been open 
to my native country, I should have followed it ; had 
a vessel arrived earlier, I should earlier with the 
same eagerness have embraced the opportunity, for 
I dreaded not an inquiry in which I foresaw no 
discredit. But Providence ordained it otherwise. 
I have been the victim of suspicion, and had nearly 
fallen a sacrifice to misapprehension. I have, how- 
ever, hitherto surmounted it, and it only remains 
with this Court to say, if my sufferings have not 
been equal to my indiscretion. 

" The decision will be the voice of honour, and 
to that I must implicitly resign myself. 

" P. Heywood." 

Mr. Morrison's Defence 

Sets out by stating that he was waked at daylight 
by Mr. Cole the boatswain, who told him that the 
ship was taken by Christian; that he assisted in 
clearing out the boat at Mr. Cole's desire, and says, 
"While I was thus employed Mr. Fryer came to 
me and asked if I had any hand in the mutiny ; I 
told him no. He then desired me to see who I 
could find to assist me, and try to rescue the ship ; 
I told him I feared it was then too late, but would 
do my endeavour ; when John Millward, who stood 
by me, and heard what Mr, Fryer said, swore he 
would stand by me if an opportunity offered. Mr. 
Fryer was about to speak again, but was prevented 
by Matthew Quintal, who, with a pistol in one hand, 
collared him with the other, saying, ' Come, Mr. 
Fryer, you must go down into your cabin;' and 
hauled him away. Churchill then came, and shak- 
ing his cutlass at me, demanded what Mr. Fryer 
said. I told him that he only asked me if they were 
going to have the long-boat, upon which Alexander 
Smith (Adams), who stood on the opposite side of 
the boat, said, ' It's a d — d lie, Charley, for I saw 
S2 



210 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

him and Millward shake hands when the master 
spoke to them.' Churchill then said to me, ' I 
would have you mind how you come on, for I have 
an eye upon you.' Smith at the same time called 
out, ' Stand to your arms, for they intend to make 
a rush.' This, as it was intended, put the mutineers 
on their guard, and I found it necessary to be very 
cautious how I acted ; and I heard Captain Bligh 
say to Smith, ' I did not expect you would be 
against me, Smith ;' but I could not hear what an- 
swer he made." 

He says, that while clearing the boat, he heard 
Christian order Churchill to see that no arms were 
put into her ; to keep Norman, M'Intosh, and Cole- 
man in the ship, and get the officers into the boat 
as fast as possible ; that Mr. Fryer begged permis- 
sion to stay, but to no purpose. " On seeing Mr. 
Fryer and most of the officers going into the boat, 
without the least appearance of an effort to rescue 
the ship, I began to reflect on my own situation ; 
and seeing the situation of the boat, and considering 
that she was at least a thousand leagues from any 
friendly settlement, and judging, from what I had 
seen of the Friendly Islanders but a few days before, 
that nothing could be expected from them but to be 
plundered or killed, and seeing no choice but of one 
evil, I chose as I thought the least, to stay in the 
ship, especially as I considered it as obeying Captain 
Bligh's orders, and depending on his promise to do 
justice to those who remained. I informed Mr. Cole 
of my intention, who made me the like promise, taking 
me by the hand and saying, ' God bless you, my 
boy ; I will do you justice if ever I reach England.' 

" I also informed Mr. Hayward of my intention ; 
and on his dropping a hint to me that he intended 
to knock Churchill down, I told him I would second 
him, pointing to some of the Friendly Island clubs 
which were sticking in the booms, and saying, 
'There were tools enough:' but (he adds) I was 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 211 

suddenly damped to find that he went into the boat 
without making the attempt he had proposed." 

He then appeals to the members of the Court, 
as to the alternative they would themselves have 
taken : — " A boat alongside, already crowded ; those 
who were in her crying out she would sink ; and 
Captain Bligh desiring no more might go in — with 
a slender stock of provisions, — what hope could 
there be to reach any friendly shore, or withstand 
the hostile attacks of the boisterous elements 1 The 
perils those underwent who reached the island of 
Timor, and whom nothing but the apparent inter- 
ference of Divine Providence could have saved, 
fully justify my fears, and prove beyond a doubt 
that they rested on a solid foundation : for by stay- 
ing in the ship, an opportunity might offer of es- 
caping, but by going in the boat nothing but death 
appeared, either from the lingering torments of hun- 
ger and thirst, or from the murderous weapons of 
cruel savages, or being swallowed up by the deep. 

" I have endeavoured," he says, " to recall to Mr. 
Hayward's remembrance a proposal he at one time 
made, by words, of attacking the mutineers, and of 
my encouraging him to the attempt, promising to 
back him. He says he has but a faint recollection 
of the business — so faint, indeed, that he cannot recall 
to his memory the particulars, but owns there was 
something passed to that effect. Faint, however, 
as his remembrance is (which for me is the more 
unfortunate), ought it not to do away all doubt with 
respect to the motives by which I was then influ- 
enced 1" And, in conclusion, he says, " I beg leave 
most humbly to remind the members of this hon- 
ourable Court, that I did freely, and of my own 
accord, deliver myself up to Lieutenant Robert 
Corner, of H. M. S. Pandora, on the first certain 
notice of her arrival." 



212 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 

William Muspratt's Defence 

Declares his innocence of any participation in the 
mutiny ; admits he assisted in hoisting out the boat, 
and in putting several articles into her ; after which 
he sat down on the booms, when Mill ward came and 
mentioned to him Mr. Fryer's intention to rescue 
the ship, when he said he would stand by Mr. Fryer 
as far as he could ; and with that intention, and for 
that purpose only, he took up a musket which one 
of the people had laid down, and which he quitted 
the moment he saw Bligh's people get into the boat. 
Solemnly denies the charge of Mr. Purcell against 
him, of handing liquor to the ship's company. Mr. 
Hayward's evidence, he trusts, must stand so im- 
peached before the Court as not to receive the least 
attention, when the lives of so many men are to be 
affected by it — for, he observes, he swears that 
Morrison was a mutineer, because he assisted in 
hoisting out the boats ; and that M'Intosh was not 
a mutineer, notwithstanding he was precisely em- 
ployed on the same business — that he criminated 
Morrison from the appearance of his countenance — 
that he had only a faint remembrance of that mate- 
rial and striking circumstance of Morrison offering 
to join him to retake the ship — that in answer to 
his (Muspratt's) question respecting Captain Bligh's 
words, " My lads, I'll do you justice," he considered 
them applied to the people in the boat, and not to 
those in the ship — to the same question put by the 
Court, he said they applied to persons remaining in 
the ship. And he notices some other instances 
which he thinks most materially affect Mr. Hay- 
ward's credit ; and says, that if he had been under 
arms when Hay ward swore he was, he humbly sub- 
mits Mr. Hallet must have seen him. And he con- 
cludes with asserting (what indeed was a very gen- 
eral opinion), " that the great misfortune attending 
this unhappy business is, that no one ever attempted 



THE COURT-MARTIAL. 213 

to rescue the ship ; that it might have been done, 
Thompson being the only sentinel over the arm 
chest." 

Michael Byrne's Defence 

was very short. He says, " It has pleased the Al- 
mighty, among the events of his unsearchable provi- 
dence, nearly to deprive me of sight, which often 
puts it out of my power to carry the intentions of 
my mind into execution. 

" I make no doubt but it appears to this honour- 
able Court, that on the 28th of April, 1789, my in- 
tention was to quit his majesty's ship Bounty with 
the officers and men who went away, and that the 
sorrow I expressed at being detained was real and 
unfeigned. 

" I do not know whether I may be able to repeat 
the exact words that were spoken on the occasion, 
but some said, ' We must not part with our fiddler ;' 
and Charles Churchill threatened to send me to the 
shades if" I attempted to quit the cutter, into which 
I had gone for the purpose of attending Lieutenant 
Bligh :" and, without further trespassing on the time 
of the court, he submits his case to its judgment and 
mercy. 

It is not necessary to notice any parts of the de- 
fence made by Coleman, Norman, and M'Intosh, as 
it is clear from the whole evidence and from Bligh's 
certificates, that those men were anxious to go in 
the boat, but were kept in the ship by force. 

It is equally clear that Ellison, Millward, and 
Burkitt were concerned in every stage of the mu- 
tiny, and had little to offer in their defence in excul- 
pation of the crime of which they were accused. 

On the sixth day, namely, on the 18th of Septem- 
ber, 1792, the court met ; the prisoners were brought 
in, audience admitted, when, the president having 
asked the prisoners if they or any of them had any 



214 

thing more to offer in their defence, the court was 
cleared, and agreed, — 

" That the charges had been proved against the 
said Peter Heywood, James Morrison, Thomas Elli- 
son, Thomas Burkitt, John Millward, and William 
Muspratt ; and did adjudge them and each of them 
to suffer death, by being hanged by the neck on 
board such of his majesty's ship or ships of war, and 
at such time or times, and at such place or places, 
as the commissioners for executing the office of 
Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, 
&c, or any three of them for the time being should, 
in writing under their hands, direct ; but the court, 
in consideration of various circumstances, did hum- 
bly and most earnestly recommend the said Peter 
Heywood and James Morrison to his majesty's 
mercy ; and the court further agreed, that the charges 
had not been proved against the said Charles Nor- 
man, Joseph Coleman, Thomas M'Intosh, and Mi- 
chael Byrne, and did adjudge them and each of them 
to be acquitted." 

The court was then opened and audience admitted 
and sentence passed accordingly. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE KING'S WARRANT. 

" Well, believe this — 
No ceremony that to great ones 'longs, 
Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, 
The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, 
Become them with one half so good a grace 
As mercy does." 

It was a very common feeling that Heywood and 
Morrison, the former in particular, had been hardly 
dealt with by the court in passing upon them a sen- 



the king's warrant. 215 

tence of death, tempered as it was with the recom- 
mendation to the king's mercy. It should, however, 
have been recollected, that the court had no dis- 
cretional power to pass any other sentence but that, 
or a full acquittal. But earnestly, no doubt, as the 
court was disposed towards the latter alternative, it 
could not consistently with the rules and feelings of 
the service be adopted. It is not enough in cases of 
mutiny (and this case was aggravated by the piratical 
seizure of a king's ship) that the officers and men 
in his majesty's naval service should take no active 
part ; to be neutral or passive is considered as tan- 
tamount to aiding and abetting. Besides, in the 
present case, the remaining in the ship along with 
the mutineers, without having recourse to such means 
as offered of leaving her, presumes a voluntary ad- 
hesion to the criminal party. The only fault of 
Heywood, and a pardonable one on account of his 
youth and inexperience, was his not asking Chris- 
tian to be allowed to go with his captain, — his not 
trying to go in time. M'Intosh, Norman, Byrne, and 
Coleman were acquitted because they expressed a 
strong desire to go, but were forced to remain. 
This was not only clearly proved, but they were in 
possession of written testimonies from Bligh to that 
effect; and so would Heywood have had, but for 
some prejudice Bligh had taken against him in the 
course of the boat- voyage home ; for it will be shown 
that he knew he was confined to his berth below. 

In favour of three of the four men condemned 
without a recommendation there were unhappily no 
palliating circumstances. Millward, Burkitt, and 
Ellison were under arms from first to last; and Elli- 
son not only left the helm to take up arms, but, 
rushing aft towards Bligh, called out, " D — n him, 
I'll be sentry over him." The fourth man, Muspratt, 
was condemned on the evidence of Lieutenant Hay- 
ward, which, however, appears to have been duly 
appreciated by the Lords Commissioners of the Ad- 



216 THE king's warrant. 

miralty, and in consequence of which the poor man 
escaped an ignominious deatn. 

The family of young Hey wood in the Isle of Man 
had been buoyed up from various quarters with the 
almost certainty of his full acquittal. From the 1 2th 
September, when the court-martial first sat, till the 
24th of that month, they were prevented by the 
strong and contrary winds which cut off all com- 
munication with England from receiving any tidings 
whatever. But while Mrs. Hey wood and her daugh- 
ters were fondly flattering themselves with every 
thing being most happily concluded, one evening, as 
they were indulging these pleasing hopes, a little 
boy, the son of one of their particular friends, ran 
into the room, and told them in the most abrupt 
manner that the trial was over and all the prisoners 
condemned, but that Peter Heywood was recom- 
mended to mercy; he added, that a man whose 
name he mentioned had told him this. The man 
was sent for, questioned, and replied he had seen it 
in a newspaper at Liverpool, from which place he 
was just arrived in a small fishing-boat, but had for- 
gotten to bring the paper with him. In this state 
of doubtful uncertainty this wretched family re- 
mained another whole week, harassed by the most 
cruel agony of mind, which no language can express.* 

* It was in this state of mind, while in momentary expectation of 
receiving an account of the termination of the court-martial, that Hey- 
wood's charming sister Nessy wrote the following lines :— 

ANXIETY. 

Doubting, dreading, fretful guest, 
Quit, oh ! quit this mortal breast. 
Why wilt thou my peace invade, 
And each brighter prospect shade ? 
Pain me not with needless Fear, 
But let Hope my bosom cheer ; 
While I court her gentle charms, 
Woo the flatterer to my arms ; 
While each moment she beguiles 
With her sweet enliv'ning smiles, 
While she softly whispers me 
" Lycidas again is free," 



the king's warrant. 217 

The affectionate Nessy determined at once to pro- 
ceed to Liverpool, and so on to London. She urges 
her brother James at Liverpool to hasten to Ports- 
mouth : " Don't wait for me, I can go^alone ; fear, 
and even despair, will support me through the jour- 
ney : think only of our poor unfortunate and adored 
boy ; bestow not one thought on me." And she adds, 
" yet, if I could listen to reason (which is indeed dif- 
ficult), it is not likely that any thing serious has 
taken place, or will do so, as we should then cer- 
tainly have had an express." She had a tempestuous 
passage of forty-nine hours, and to save two hours 
got into an open fishing-boat at the mouth of the 
Mersey, the sea running high and washing over her 
every moment ; but she observes, " let me but be 
blessed with the cheering influence of hope, and I have 
spirit to undertake any thing." From Liverpool she 
set off the same night in the mail for London ; and 
arrived at Mr. Graham's on the 5th October, who 
received her with the greatest kindness, and desired 
her to make his house her home. 

The suspense into which the afflicted family in the 
Isle of Man had been thrown by the delay of the 
packet, was painfully relieved on its arrival in the 
night of the 29th September, by the following letter 
from Mr. Graham to the Rev. Dr. Scott, which the 
latter carried to Mrs. Heywood's family the follow- 
ing morning. 

" Portsmouth, Tuesday, \Qth September. 

"Although a stranger, I make no apology in 
writing to you. I have attended and given my 

While I gaze on Pleasure's gleam, 
Say not thou " 'Tis all a dream." 
Hence— nor darken Joy's soft bloom 
With thy pale and sickly gloom : 
Naught have I to do with thee— 
Hence— begone— Anxiety. 
Isle of Matt, September 10th. Nessy Heywow, 

T 



218 the king's warrant. 

assistance at Mr. Hey wood's trial, which was finished 
and the sentence passed about half an hour ago. 
Before I tell you what that sentence is, I must in- 
form you that his life is safe, notwithstanding- it is 
at present at the mercy of the king, to which he is 
in the strongest terms recommended by the court. 
That any unnecessary fears may not be productive 
of misery to the family, I must add, that the king's 
attorney-general (who with Judge Ashurst attended 
the trial) desired me to make myself perfectly easy, 
for that my friend was as safe as if he had not been 
condemned. I would have avoided making use of 
this dreadful word, but it must have come to. your 
knowledge, and perhaps unaccompanied by many 
others of a pleasing kind. To prevent its being im- 
properly communicated to Mrs. or the Misses Hey- 
wood, whose distresses first engaged me in the 
business, and could not fail to call forth my best ex- 
ertions upon the occasion, I send you this by ex- 
press. The mode of communication I must leave 
to your discretion; and shall only add, that although 
from a combination of circumstances, ill-nature, and 
mistaken friendship, the sentence is in itself terrible ; 
yet it is incumbent on me to assure you, that from 
the same combination of circumstances everybody 
who attended the trial is perfectly satisfied in his 
own mind that he was hardly guilty in appearance, in 
intention he was perfectly innocent. I shall of course 
write to Commodore Pasley, whose mind from my 
letter to him of yesterday must be dreadfully agi- 
tated, and take his advice about what is to be done 
when Mr. Heywood is released. I shall stay here 
till then, and my intention is afterward to take him 
to my house in town, where, I think, he had better 
stay till one of the family calls for him : for he will 
require a great deal of tender management after all 
his sufferings ; and it would perhaps be a necessary 

Preparation for seeing his mother, that one or both 
is sisters should be previously prepared to support 
her on so trying an occasion." 



THE KINGS WARRANT. 219 

On the following- day Mr. Graham again writes to 
Dr. Scott, and among other things observes, " It will 
be a great satisfaction to his family to learn, that 
the declarations of some of the other prisoners, 
since the trial, put it past all doubt that the evidence 
upon which he was convicted must have been (to 
say nothing worse of it) an unfortunate belief, on 
the part of the witness, of circumstances which 
either never had existence, or were applicable to 
one of the other gentlemen who remained in the 
ship, and not to Mr. Heywood."* 

On the 20th September Mr. Heywood addresses 
the first letter he wrote after his conviction to Dr. 
Scott. 

" Honoured and dear Srr, 
" On Wednesday the 12th instant the awful trial 
commenced, and on that day, when in court, I had the 
pleasure of receiving your most kind and parental 
letter ;f in answer to which I now communicate to 
you the melancholy issue of it, which, as I desired 
my friend Mr. Graham to inform you of immediately, 
will be no dreadful news to you. The morning 
lowers, and all my hope of worldly joy is fled. On 
Tuesday morning the 18th the dreadful sentence of 
death was pronounced upon me, to which (being the 
just decree of that Divine Providence who first gave 
me breath) I bow my devoted head with that forti- 
tude, cheerfulness, and resignation which is the 
duty of every member of the church of our blessed 
Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus. To Him alone 
I now look up for succour, in full hope that perhaps 
a few days more will open to the view of my 
astonished and fearful soul his kingdom of eternal 
and incomprehensible bliss, prepared only for the 
righteous of heart. 

* This is supposed to allude to the evidence given by Hallet. 

t This refers to a very kind and encouraging letter written to him by 
the Rev. Dr. Scott, of the Isle of Man, who knew him from a boy, and 
had the highest opinion of his character. 



220 THE KINGS WARRANT. 

" I have not been found guilty of the slightest act 
connected with that detestable crime of mutiny, but 
am doomed to die for not being active in my endea- 
vours to suppress it. Could the witnesses who ap- 
peared on the court-martial be themselves tried, they 
would also suffer for the very same and only crime 
of which I have been found guilty. But I am to be 
the victim. Alas ! my youthful inexperience, and 
not depravity of will, is the sole cause to which I can 
attribute my misfortunes. But, so far from repining 
at my fate, I receive it with a dreadful kind of joy, 
composure, and serenity of mind ; well assured that it 
has pleased God to point me out as a subject through 
which some greatly useful (though at present un- 
searchable) intention of the divine attributes maybe 
carried into execution for the future benefit of my 
country. Then why should I repine at being made 
a sacrifice for the good, perhaps, of thousands of my 
fellow-creatures ; forbid it, Heaven ! Why should 
I be sorry to leave a world in which I have met with 
nothing but misfortunes and all their concomitant 
evils 1 I shall, on the contrary, endeavour to divest 
myself of all wishes for the futile and sublunary en- 
joyments of it, and prepare my soul for its reception 
into the bosom of its Redeemer. For though the 
very strong recommendation I have had to his ma- 
jesty's mercy by all the members of the court may 
meet with his approbation, yet that is but the bal- 
ance of a straw, a mere uncertainty, upon which no 
hope can be built ; the other is a certainty that must 
one day happen to every mortal, and therefore the 
salvation of my soul requires my most prompt and 
powerful exertions during the short time I may have 
to remain on earth, 

" As this is too tender a subject for me to inform 
my unhappy and distressed mother and sisters of, I 
trust, dear sir, you will either show them this letter, 
or make known to them the truly dreadful intelli- 
gence in such a manner as (assisted by your whole- 



THE KING'S WARRANT. 221 

some and paternal advice) may enable them to bear 
it with Christian fortitude. The only worldly feel- 
ings I am now possessed of are for their happiness 
and welfare ; but even these, in my present situa- 
tion, I must endeavour, with God's assistance, to 
eradicate from my heart, how hard soever the task. 
I must strive against cherishing any temporal affec- 
tions. But, my dear sir, endeavour to mitigate my 
distressed mother's sorrow. Give my everlasting 
duty to her, and unabated love to my disconsolate 
brothers and sisters, and all my other relations. En- 
courage them, by my example, to bear up with for- 
titude and resignation to the Divine will, under their 
load of misfortunes, almost too great for female na- 
ture to support, and teach them to be fully persuaded 
that all hopes of happiness on earth are vain. On 
my own account I still enjoy the most easy serenity 
of mind ; and am, dear sir, for ever, your greatly in- 
debted, and most dutiful, but ill-fated, 

" Peter Heywood." 

His next letter is to his dearly beloved Nessy. 

" Had I not a strong idea that, ere this mournful 
epistle from your ill-fated brother can reach the 
trembling hand of my ever dear and much-afflicted 
Nessy, she must have been informed of the final 
issue of my trial on Wednesday morning, by my 
honoured friend Dr. Scott, I would not now add 
trouble to the afflicted by a confirmation of it. 
Though I have indeed fallen an early victim to the 
rigid rules of the service, and though the jaws of 
death are once more opened upon me, yet do I not 
now nor ever will bow to the tyranny of base-born 
fear. Conscious of having done my duty to God and 
man, I feel not one moment's anxiety on my own 
account, but cherish a full and sanguine hope that 
perhaps a few days more will free me from the load 
of misfortune which has ever been my portion in 
T2 



222 THE KING'S WARRANT. 

this transient period of existence ; and that I shall 
find an everlasting asylum in those blessed regions 
of eternal bliss where the galling yoke of tyranny 
and oppression is felt no more. 

" If earthly majesty, to whose mercy I have been 
recommended by the court, should refuse to put 
forth its lenient hand and rescue me from what is 
fancifully called an ignominious death, there is a 
heavenly King and Redeemer ready to receive the 
righteous penitent, on whose gracious mercy alone I, 
as we all should, depend, with that pious resignation 
which is the duty of every Christian; well convinced, 
that without his express permission not even a hair 
of our head can fall to the ground, 

" Oh ! my sister, my heart yearns when I picture 
to myself the affliction, indescribable affliction, which 
this melancholy intelligence must have caused in 
the mind of my much honoured mother. But let it 
be your peculiar endeavour to watch over her grief 
and mitigate her pain. I hope, indeed, this little ad- 
vice from me will be unnecessary ; for I know the 
holy precepts of that inspired religion which, thank 
Heaven ! have been implanted in the bosoms of us 
all, will point out to you, and all my dear relatives, 
that fortitude and resignation which are required of 
us in the conflicts of human nature, and prevent you 
from arraigning the wisdom of that omniscient 
Providence of which we ought all to have the fullest 
sense. 

" I have had all my dear Nessy's letters ; the one 
of the 17th this morning : but alas ! what do they 
now avail 1 Their contents only serve to prove the 
instability of all human hopes and expectations; 
but, my dear sister, I begin to feel the pangs which 
you must suffer from the perusal of this melancholy 
paper, and will therefore desist, for 1 know it is more 
than your nature can support. The contrast between 
last week's correspondence and this is great indeed ; 
hut why ? we had only hope then ; and have we not 



the king's warrant. 223 

the same now ? certainly. Endeavour then, my love, 
to cherish that hope, and with faith rely upon the 
mercy of that God who does as to him seems best 
and most conducive to the general good of his mise- 
rable creatures. 

" Bear it then with Christian patience, and instil 
into the mind of my dear and now sorrowful sis- 
ters, by your advice, the same disposition; and, for 
Heaven's sake, let not despair touch the soul of my 
dear mother — for then all would be over. Let 
James also employ all his efforts to cheer her spirits 
under her weight of wo. I will write no more. 
Adieu, my dearest love ! Write but little to me, 
and pray for your ever affectionate but ill-fated 
brother. 

" P.S. I am in perfect spirits ; therefore let not 
your sympathizing feelings for my sufferings hurt 
your own precious health, which is dearer to me 
than life itself. Adieu !" 

In a letter to his mother he assures her of the 
perfect tranquillity of his mind ; advises her not to 
entertain too sanguine hopes, but at the same time 
not to be uneasy ; and he adds, " A minister of the 
gospel, who now attends me, has advised me not to 
say too much to any of my dear relations, but now 
and then I cannot avoid it." To his dearest Nessy, 
who encourages him to take hope, he says, "Alas ! 
it is but a broken stick which i" have leaned on, and 
it has pierced my soul in such a manner that I will 
never more trust to it, but wait with a contented 
mind and patience for the final accomplishment of 

the Divine will Mrs. Hope is a faithless and 

ungrateful acquaintance, with whom I have now 
broken off all connexions, and in her stead have en« 
deavoured to cultivate a more sure friendship with 
Resignation, in full trust of finding her more con- 
stant." He desires her to write through her brother 
James, who is with him ; and says that the reason 



224 THE KING'S WARRANT. 

for his having desired her not to write much was 
lest she might hurt herself by it ; and he adds, " from 
an idea that your exalted sentiments upon so tender 
a subject ought not to be known by an inquiring 
world;" but, he continues, "do just as you like 
best: I am conscious that your good sense will 
prompt you to nothing inconsistent with our present 
circumstances." To this she replies, in the true 
spirit of a character like her own, " Yes ! my ever 
dearest brother, I will write to you ; and I know I 
need not add, that in that employment (while thus 
deprived of your loved society) consists my only 
happiness. But why not express my sentiments to 
yourself? I have nothing to say which I should 
blush to have known to all the world ; — nothing to 
express in my letters to you but love and affection ; 
and shall I blush for this 1 Or can I have a wish 
to conceal sentiments of such a nature for an object 
who I am so certain merits all my regard, and in 
whom the admiration of surrounding friends con- 
vinces me I am not mistaken. No, surely ; 'tis my 
pride, my chiefest glory, to love you ; and when you 
think me worthy of commendation, that praise, and 
that only, can make me vain. I shall not therefore 
write to you, my dearest brother, in a private man- 
ner, for it is unnecessary, and I abhor all deceit ; in 
which I know you agree with me." 

To her sister Mary, in the Isle of Man, she says, 
" With respect to that little wretch Hallet, his in- 
trepidity in court was astonishing ; and after every 
evidence had spoken highly in Peter's favour, and 
given testimony of his innocence, so strong that not 
a doubt was entertained of his acquittal, he declared, 
unasked, that while Bligh was upon deck, he (Hallet) 
saw him look at and speak to Peter. What he said 
to him Hallet could not hear (being at the distance 
of twenty feet from Bligh, and Peter was twenty 
feet farther off, consequently a distance of forty feet 
separated Mr. Bligh and my brother) ; but he added 



THE KING'S WARRANT. 225 

that Peter, on hearing what Mr. Bligh said to him, 
laughed, and turned contemptuously away. No other 
witness saw Peter laugh but Hallet ; on the con- 
trary, all agreed he wore a countenance on that day 
remarkably sorrowful ; yet the effect of this cruel 
evidence was wonderful upon the minds of the court, 
and they concluded by pronouncing the dreadful sen- 
tence, though at the same time accompanied by the 
strongest recommendation to mercy. Assure your- 
selves (I have it from Mr. Graham's own mouth), 
that Peter's honour is, and will be, as secure as his 
own ; that every professional man, as well as every 
man of sense, of whatever denomination, does and 
will esteem him highly ; that my dear uncle Pasley 
(who was in town the night before my arrival) is de- 
lighted with his worth ; and that, in short, we shall 
at length be happy." 

From this time a daily correspondence passed be- 
tween Peter Heywood and his sister Nessy, the lat- 
ter indulging hope, even to a certainty, that she will 
not be deceived, — the other preaching up patience 
and resignation, with a full reliance on his innocence 
and integrity. " Cheer up then," says he, " my dear 
Nessy ; cherish your hope, and I will exercise my 
patience.'''' Indeed so perfectly calm was this young- 
man under his dreadful calamity, that in a very few 
days after condemnation his brother says, " While I 
write this, Peter is sitting by me making an Ota- 
heitan vocabulary, and so happy and intent upon it, 
that I have scarcely an opportunity of saying a word 
to him ; he is in excellent spirits, and I am convinced 
they are better and better every day." 

This vocabulary is a very extraordinary perform^ 
ance ; it consists of one hundred full-written folio 
pages ; the words alphabetically arranged, and all 
the syllables accented. It appears from a passage 
in the " Voyage of the Duff," that a copy of this vo- 
cabulary was of great use to the missionaries who 
Were first sent to Otaheite in this ship, 



226 the king's warrant. 

During the delay which took place in carrying the 
sentence into execution, Commodore Pasley, Mr. 
Graham, and others were indefatigable in their in- 
quiries and exertions to ascertain what progress had 
been made in bringing to a happy issue the recom- 
mendation to the fountain of mercy : not less so 
was Nessy Hey wood ; from Mr. Graham she learned 
what this exceUent man considered to be the princi- 
pal parts of the evidence that led to the conviction 
of her unhappy brother, which, having understood 
to be the following, she transmitted to her brother: — 

First. That he assisted in hoisting out the launch. 

Second. That he was seen by the carpenter 
resting his hand upon a cutlass. 

Third. That on being called to by Lieutenant 
Bligh, he laughed. 

Fourth. That he remained in the Bounty, instead 
of accompanying Bligh in the launch. 

On these points of the evidence Mr. Heywood 
made the following comments, which he sent from 
Portsmouth to his sister in town. 

" Peter Hey wood's Remarks upon material points of 

the evidence which was given at his trial, on board 

the Duke, in Portsmouth Harbour. 

" First. That I assisted in hoisting out the launch. 
—This boat was asked for by the captain and his 
officers, and whoever assisted in hoisting her out 
were their friends ; for if the captain had been sent 
away in the cutter (which was Christian's first in- 
tention), he could not have taken with him more 
than nine or ten men, whereas the launch carried 
nineteen. The boatswain, the master, the gunner, 
and the carpenter say, in their evidence, that they con- 
sidered me as helping the captain on this occasion. 

" Second. That I was seen by the carpenter resting 
my hand on a cutlass. — I was seen in this position by 
no other person than the carpenter — no other person 
therefore could be intimidated by my appearance. 



the king's warrant. 227 

Was the carpenter intimidated by it 1 — No ; so far 
from being afraid of me, he did not even look upon 
me in the light of a person armed, but pointed out to 
me the danger there was of my being thought so, 
and I immediately took away my hand from the 
cutlass, upon which I had very innocently put it 
when I was in a state of stupor. The Court was 
particularly pointed in its inquiries into this circum- 
stance ; and the carpenter was pressed to declare, 
on the oath he had taken, and after maturely con- 
sidering the matter, whether he did at the time he 
saw me so situated, or had since been inclined to 
believe, that, under all the circumstances of the 
case, I could be considered as an armed man; to 
which he unequivocally answered, No : and he gave 
some good reasons (which will be found in his 
evidence) for thinking that I had not a wish to be 
armed during the mutiny. The master, the boat- 
swain, the gunner, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Hallet, and 
John Smith (who, with the carpenter, were all the 
witnesses belonging to the Bounty) say, in their 
evidence, that they did not, any of them, see me 
armed ; and the boatswain and the carpenter further 
say, in the most pointed terms, that they considered 
me to be one of the captain's party, and by no means 
as belonging to the mutineers : and the master, the 
boatswain, the carpenter, the gunner, all declare, 
that from what they observed on my conduct during 
the mutiny, and from a recollection of my behaviour 
previous thereto, they were convinced I would have 
afforded them all the assistance in my power, if an 
opportunity had offered to retake the ship. 

Third. That upon being called to by the captain, 
I laughed. — If this was believed by the Court, it 
must have had, I am afraid, a very great effect upon 
its judgment ; for, if viewed in too serious a light., 
it would seem to bring together and combine a 
number of trifling circumstances, which by them- 
selves could only be treated merely as matters of 



228 the king's warrant. 

suspicion. It was no doubt, therefore, received with 
caution, and considered with the utmost candour. 
The countenance, I grant, on some other occasions, 
may warrant an opinion of good or evil existing in 
the mind ; but on the momentous events of life and 
death, it is surely by much too indefinite and hazard- 
ous even to listen to for a moment. The different 
ways of expressing our various passions are, with 
many, as variable as the features they wear. Tears 
have often been, nay, generally are, the relief of ex- 
cessive joy; while misery and dejection have, many 
a time, disguised themselves in a smile ; and convul- 
sive laughs have betrayed the anguish of an almost 
broken heart. To judge, therefore, the principles 
of the heart by the barometer of the face is as 
erroneous as it would be absurd and unjust. This 
matter may likewise be considered in another point 
of view. Mr. Hallet says I laughed in consequence 
of being called to by the captain, who was abaft the 
mizen-mast, while I was upon the platform near the 
fore-hatchway, a distance of more than thirty feet : 
if the captain intended I should hear him, and there 
can be no doubt that he wished it, if he really 
called to me, he must have exerted his voice, and 
very considerably too, upon such an occasion and 
in such a situation ; and yet Mr. Hallet himself, who, 
by being on the quarter-deck, could not have been 
half the distance from the captain that I was, even 
he, I say, could not hear what was said to me : how 
then, in the name of God, was it possible that I 
should have heard the captain at all, situated, as I 
must have been, in the midst of noisy confusion ? 
And if I did not hear him, which I most solemnly 
aver to be the truth, even granting that I laughed 
(which, however, in my present awful situation, I 
declare I believe I did not), it could not have been at 
What the captain said. Upon this ground, then, I 
hope I shall stand acquitted of this charge, for if 
the crime derives its guilt from the knowledge I ha«3 



the king's warrant. 229 

of the captain's speaking to me, it follows, of 
course, that if I did not hear him speak, there could 
be no crime in my laughing. It may, however, very 
fairly be asked, why Mr. Hallet did not make known 
that the captain was calling to me ] His duty to 
the captain, if not his friendship for me, should have 
prompted him to it; and the peculiarity of our 
situation required this act of kindness at his hands.* 
I shall only observe further upon this head, that the 
boatswain, the carpenter, and Mr. Hayward, who 
saw more of me than any other of the witnesses, 
did say in their evidence that I had rather a sor- 
rowful countenance on the day of the mutiny. 

" Fourth. That I remained on board the ship instead 
of going in the boat with the captain.— 'That I was at 
first alarmed and afraid of going into the boat I will 
Hot pretend to deny ; but that afterward I wished 
to accompany the captain, and should have done it, 
if I had not been prevented by Thompson, who con- 
fined me below by the order of Churchill, is clearly 
proved by the evidence of several of the witnesses. 
The boatswain says, that just before he left the ship 
I went below, and in passing him said something 
about a bag— (it was, that I would put a few things 
into a bag and follow him) ; the carpenter says he 
saw me go below at this time ; and both those wit- 

* Captain Bligh states in his journal, that none of his officers were 
suffered to come near him while held a prisoner by Christian ; and 
Hallet was, no doubt, mistaken, but he had probably said it in the boat, 
and thought it right to be consistent on the trial. 

It has been said that Hallet, when in the Penelope, in which frigate he 
died, expressed great regret at the evidence he had given at the court- 
martial, and frequently alluded to it, admitting that he might have been 
mistaken. — There can be very little doubt that he was so. But the 
editor has ascertained from personal inquiry of one of the most dis- 
tinguished flag-officers in the service, who was then first lieutenant of 
the Penelope, that Hallet frequently expressed to him his deep contrition 
for having given in evidence what on subsequent reflection he was con- 
vinced to be incorrect ; that he ascribed it to the state of confusion in 
which his mind was when under examination before the court ; and 
that he had since satisfied himself that, owing to the general alarm and 
confusion during the mutiny, he must have confounded Hevwood wif& 
gome other person. 

V 



230 THE king's warrant. 

nesses say, that they heard the master-at-arms call 
to Thompson "to keep them below? The point, 
therefore, will be to prove to whom this order, " keep 
them below" would apply. The boatswain and car- 
penter say, they have no doubt of its meaning me 
as one ; and that it must have been so, I shall have 
very little difficulty in showing, by the following 
statement : — 

" There remained on board the ship after the boat 
put off twenty-five men. Messrs. Hayward and 
Hallet have proved that the following were under 
arms ; — Christian, Hillbrant, Millward, Burkitt, Mus- 
pratt, Ellison, Sumner, Smith, Young, Skinner, 
Churchill, M'Koy, Quintal, Morrison, Williams, 
Thompson, Mills, and Brown,-— in all eighteen. The 
master (and upon this occasion I may be allowed to 
quote from the captain's printed narrative) mentions 
Martin as one, which makes the number of armed 
men nineteen, none of whom we may reasonably 
suppose, were ordered to be kept below. Indeed, Mr. 
Hayward says that there were at the least eighteen 
of them upon deck when he went into the boat ; and 
if Thompson, the sentinel over the arm-chest, be 
added to them, it exactly agrees with the number 
above named; there remains then six to whom 
Churchill's order, " keep them below," might apply, 
namely, Heywood, Stewart, Coleman, Norman, 
M'Intosh, and Byrne. 

" Could Byrne have been one of them \ No, for 
he was in the cutter alongside. — Could Coleman 
have been one of them ? No, for he was at the 
gangway when the captain and officers went into the 
launch, and aft upon the taffrail when the boat was 
veered astern. — Could Norman have been one of 
them 1 No, for he was speaking to the officers.^ 
Could M'Intosh have been one of them 1 No, for 
he was with Coleman and Norman, desiring the 
captain and officers to take notice that they were 
not concerned in the mutiny. It could then have 



the king's warrant. 231 

applied to nobody but to Mr. Stewart and myself; 
and by this order of Churchill, therefore, was I pre- 
vented from going with the captain in the boat. 

" The foregoing appear to me the most material 
points of evidence on the part of the prosecution. 
My defence being very full, and the body of evidence 
in my favour too great to admit of observation in 
this concise manner, I shall refer for an opinion 
thereon to the minutes of the court-martial. 

(Signed) "P. Heywood." 

There is a note in Marshall's Naval Biography,* 
furnished by Captain Heywood, which shows one 
motive for keeping him and Stewart in the ship. It 
is as follows: — "Mr. Stewart was no sooner re- 
leased than he demanded of Christian the reason of 
his detention ; upon which the latter denied having 
given any directions to that effect; and his assertion 
was corroborated by Churchill, who declared that he 
had kept both him and Mr. Heywood below, 
knowing it was their intention to go away with 
Bligh ; ' in which case,' added he, ' what would 
become of us, if any thing should happen to you ; 
who is there but yourself and them to depend upon 
in navigating the ship]'" It may be suspected, 
however, that neither Christian nor Churchill told 
the exact truth, and that Mr. Heywood's case is, in 
point of fact, much stronger than he ever could have 
imagined ; and that if Bligh had not acted the part 
of a prejudiced and unfair man towards him, he 
would have been acquitted by the court on the same 
ground that Coleman, Norman, M'Intosh, and Byrne 
were, — namely, that they were detained in the ship 
against their will, as stated by Bligh in the narrative 
on which they were tried, and also in his printed 
report. It has before been observed, that many 
things are set down in Bligh's original manuscript 

* Vol. ii. p. 778. 



232 THE KING'S WARRANT, 

journal, that have not appeared in any published 
document ; and on this part of the subject there is, 
in the former, the following very important admis- 
sion. "As for the officers whose cabins were in 
the cockpit, there was no relief for them ; they en- 
deavoured to come to my assistance, but were not 
allowed to put their heads above the hatchway." To 
say, therefore, that in the suppression of this pas- 
sage Bligh acted with prejudice and unfairness is to 
make use of mild terms ; it has more the ap- 
pearance of a deliberate act of malice, by which two 
innocent men might have been condemned to suffer 
an ignominious death, one of whom was actually 
brought into this predicament ; — the other only es- 
caped it by a premature death. It may be asked, 
how did Bligh know that Stewart and Hey wood en- 
deavoured, but were not allowed, to come to his as- 
sistance 1 Confined as he was on the quarter-deck, 
how could he know what was going on below 1 The 
answer is, he must have known it from Christian 
himself; Churchill, no doubt, acted entirely by his 
leader's orders, and the latter could give no orders 
that were not heard by Bligh, whom he never left 
but held the cord by which his hands were fettered 
till he was forced into the boat. Churchill was quite 
right as to the motive of keeping these young 
officers ; but Christian had no doubt another and a 
stronger motive : he knew how necessary it was to 
interpose a sort of barrier between himself and his 
mutinous gang ; he was too good an adept not to 
know that seamen will always pay a more ready and 
cheerful obedience to officers who are gentlemen, than 
to those who may have risen to command from among 
themselves. It is indeed a common observation in 
the service, that officers who have risen from before 
the mast are generally the greatest tyrants.* It was 



* Some few captains were in the habit of turning over a delinquent 
to be tried by their messmates, and when found guilty it invariably 



the king's warrant. 233 

Bligh's misfortune not to have been educated in the 
cockpit of a man of war, among young gentlemen, 
which is to the navy what a public school is to 
those who are to move in civil society. What 
painful sufferings to the individual, and how much 
misery to an affectionate family might have been 
spared, had Bligh, instead of suppressing, only suf- 
fered the passage to stand as originally written in his 
journal! 

The remarks of young Heywood above recited 
were received and transmitted by his sister Nessy 
in a letter to the Earl of Chatham, then first lord 
of the Admiralty, of which the following is a copy :— 

" Great Russell- Street, llth Oct. 1792. 
" My Lord, 
"To a nobleman of your lordship's known hu- 
manity and excellence of heart I dare hope that the 
unfortunate cannot plead in vain. Deeply impressed 
ajs I therefore am with sentiments of the most pro- 
found respect for a character which I have been ever 
taught to revere, and alas ! nearly interested as I 
must be in the subject of these lines, may I request 
your lordship will generously pardon a sorrowful 
and mourning sister for presuming to offer the en- 
closed [remarks] for your candid perusal. It con- 
tains a few observations made by my most unfor- 
tunate and tenderly beloved brother, Peter Hey- 
wood, endeavouring to elucidate some parts of the 
evidence given at the court-martial lately held at 
Portsmouth upon himself and other prisoners of his 
majesty's ship Bounty. When I assure you, my 
lord, that he is d-earer and more precious to me than 
any object on earth — nay, infinitely more valuable 
than life itself— that, deprived of him, the word 

happened that the punishment inflicted was doubly severe to what it 
would have been in the ordinary way. This practice,— which, as giving 
a. deliberative voice to the ship's company, was highly reprehensible,— 
it is to be hoped, has entirely ceased. 
112 



234 THE KINGS WARRANT. 

misery would but ill express my complicated wretch- 
edness—and that on his fate my own and (shall I 
not add 1) that of a tender, fond, and alas J widowed 
mother depend, I am persuaded you will not won*- 
der, nor be offended, that I am thus bold in conjuring 
your lordship will consider with your usual candour 
and benevolence the " observations" I now offer 
you, as well as the painful situation of my dear and 
unhappy brother. 

" I have the honour, &c. 

" Nessy Heywood." 

Whether this letter and its enclosure produced any 
effect on the mind of Lord Chatham does not appear $ 
but no immediate steps were taken, nor was any an- 
swer given : and this amiable young lady and her 
friends were suffered to remain in the most painful 
state of suspense for another fortnight. A day or two 
before the warrant was despatched, that excellent 
man Mr. Graham writes thus to Mrs. Heywood ; — 

" My dear Madam, 

k If feeling for the distresses and rejoicing in the 
happiness of others denote a heart which entitles 
the owner of it to the confidence of the good and 
virtuous, I would fain be persuaded that mine has 
been so far interested in your misfortunes, and is 
now so pleased with the prospect of your being made 
happy, as cannot fail to procure me the friendship 
of your family, which, as it is my ambition, it cannot 
cease to be my desire to cultivate. 

"Unused to the common rewards which are 
sought after in this world, I will profess to antici- 
pate more real pleasure and satisfaction from the 
simple declaration of you and yours, that " we ac- 
cept of your services, and we thank you for them," 
than it is in common minds to conceive ; but, fear- 
ful lest a too grateful sense should be entertained of 
•the friendly Offices I have been engaged in (which, 



THE king's warrant. 235 

however, I ought to confess I was prompted to, in 
the first place, by a remembrance of the many obli- 
gations I owed to Commodore Pasley), I must beg 
you will recollect, that by sending to me your charm- 
ing Nessy (and if strong affection may plead such a 
privilege, I may be allowed to call her my daughter 
also) you would have overpaid me if my trouble had 
been ten times and my uneasiness ten thousand 
times greater than they were, upon what I once 
thought the melancholy, but now deem the fortunate, 
occasion which has given me the happiness of her 
acquaintance. Thus far, my dear madam, I have 
written to please myself. Now, for what must 
please you ; and in which, too, I have my share of 
satisfaction. 

" The business, though not publicly known, is 
most certainly finished ; and what I had my doubts 
about yesterday I am satisfied of to-day. Happy, 
happy, happy family ! accept of my congratulations ; 
not for what it is in the power of words to express, 
but for what I know you will feel, upon being told 
that your beloved Peter will soon be restored to 
your bosom with every virtue that can adorn a man, 
and ensure to him an affectionate, a tender, and 
truly welcome reception." 

At the foot of this letter Nessy writes thus : — 
" Now, my dearest mamma, did you ever in all your 
life read so charming a letter ? Be assured it is ex- 
actly characteristic of the benevolent writer. What 
would I give to be transported (though only for a 
moment) to your elbow, that I might see you read 
it 1 What will you feel, when you know assuredly 
that you may with certainty believe its contents ? 
Well may Mr. Graham call us happy ! for never 
felicity could equal ours ! Don't expect connected 
sentences from me at present, for this joy makes 
jne almost delirious. Adieu! love to all — I need 



236 

not say be happy and blessed as I am at this dear 
hour, my beloved mother, 

" Your most affectionate, 

"N. H." 

On the 24th October the king's warrant was de- 
spatched from the Admiralty, granting a full and free 
pardon to Heywood and Morrison, a respite for 
Muspratt, which was followed by a pardon ; and for 
carrying the sentence of Ellison, Burkitt, and Mill- 
ward into execution, which was done on the 29th, 
on board his majesty's ship Brunswick, in Ports- 
mouth harbour. On this melancholy occasion Cap- 
tain Hamond reports that " the criminals behaved 
with great penitence and decorum, acknowledged 
the justice of their sentence for the crime of which 
the}'' had been found guilty, and exhorted their 
fellow-sailors to take warning by -their untimely 
fate, and whatever might be their hardships, never 
to forget their obedience to their officers, as a duty 
they owed to their king and country." The captain 
adds, " A party from each ship in the harbour and 
at Spithead attended the execution, and from the 
reports I have received, the example seems to have 
made a great impression upon the minds of all the 
ships' companies present." 

The same warrant that carried with it affliction to 
the friends of these unfortunate men was the har- 
binger of joy to the family and friends of young Hey- 
wood. The happy intelligence was communicated 
to his affectionate Nessy on the 26th, who instantly 
despatched the joyful tidings to her anxious mother 
in the following characteristic note : — 

" Friday, 26th October, four o'clock. 

" Oh, blessed hour ! — little did I think, my beloved 

friends, when I closed my letter this morning, that 

before night I should be out of my senses with joy ! 

—this moment, this ecstatic moment, brought the 



the king's warrant. 237 

enclosed.* I cannot speak my happiness ; let it be 
sufficient to say, that in a very few hours our angel 
Peter will be free ! Mr. Graham goes this night to 
Portsmouth, and to-morrow, or next day at farthest, 
I shall be— oh, heavens ! what shall I be 1 I am 
already transported, even to pain ; then how shall I 
bear to clasp him to the bosom of your happy, ah ! 
how very happy, and affectionate, 

" Nessy Heywood." 
"I am too mad to write sense, but 'tis a pleasure 
I would not forego to be the most reasonable being 
on earth. I asked Mr. Graham, who is at my elbow, 
if he would say any thing to you, ' Lord !' said he, 
? I can't say any thing ;' he is almost as mad as 
myself."f 

* Information that the pardon was gone down to Portsmouth, 
t She had received, previous to this, information of what the event 
would be, and thus gives vent to her feelings. 

'' On receiving certain Intelligence that my most amiable and beloved 
Brother, Peter Heywood, would soon be restored to Freedom 
" Oh, blissful hour !— oh moment of delight ! 
Replete with happiness, with rapture bright ! 
An age of pain is sure repaid by this, 
'Tis joy too great — 'tis ecstasy of bliss ! 
Ye sweet sensations crowding on my soul, 
Which following each other swiftly roll, — 
Ye dear ideas which unceasing press 
And pain this bosom by your wild excess, 
Ah ! kindly cease — for pity's sake subside, 
Nor thus o'erwhelm me with joy's rapid tide : 
My beating heart, oppress'd with wo and care, 
Has yet to learn such happiness to bear : 
From grief, distracting grief, thus high to soar, 
To know dull pain and misery no more, 
To hail each op'ning morn with new delight, 
To rest in peace and joy each happy night, 
To see my Lycidas from bondage free, 
Restored to life, to pleasure, and to me, 
To see him thus— adorn'd with virtue's charms, 
To give him to a longing mother's arms, 
To know him by surrounding friends caress'd, 
Of honour, fame, of life's best gifts possess'd, 
Oh, my full heart ! 'tis joy — 'tis bliss supreme, 
And though 'tis real— yet, how like a dream ! 
Teach me then, Heav'n, to bear it as I ought, 
Inspire each rapt'rous, each transporting thought; 



238 the king's warrant. 

Mr. Graham writes, " I have however my senses 
sufficiently about me not to suffer this to go without 
begging leave to congratulate you upon, and to 
assure you that I most sincerely sympathize and 
participate in, the happiness which I am sure the 
enclosed will convey to the mother and sisters of my 
charming and beloved Nessy." 

This " charming" girl next writes to Mr. Const, 
who attended as counsel for her brother, to acquaint 
him with the joyful intelligence, and thus concludes : 
" I flatter myself you will partake in the joy which, 
notwithstanding it is so excessive at this moment 
as almost to deprive me of my faculties, leaves me 
however sufficiently collected to assure you of the 
eternal gratitude and esteem with which I am, &c." 

To which Mr. Const, after congratulations and 
thanks for her polite attention, observes, " Give me 
leave, my dear Miss Heywood, to assure you that 
the intelligence has given me a degree of plea- 
sure which I have not terms to express, and it is 
even increased by knowing what you must expe- 
rience on the event. Nor is it an immaterial reflec- 
tion, that although your brother was unfortunately 
involved in the general calamity which gave birth to 
the charge, he is uncontaminated by the crime ; for 
there was not a credible testimony of the slightest 
fact against him that can make the strictest friend 
deplore any thing that has passed, except his suffer- 
ings ; and his uniform conduct under them only 
proved how little he deserved them." 

Mr. Graham's impatience and generous anxiety to 



Teach me to bend beneath thy bounteous hand, 
With gratitude my willing heart expand : 
To thy omnipotence I humbly bow, 
Afflicted once — but ah ! how happy now ! 
Restored in peace, submissive to thy will, 
Oh ! bless his days to come — protect him still ; 
Prolong his life, thy goodness to adore, 
And oh ! let sorrow's shafts ne'er wound him more. 
ft JJondon, October 15th, 1792, midnight. "Nkssv Heywood." 



the king's warrant. 239 

give the finishing stroke to this joyful event would 
not permit him to delay one moment in setting out 
for Portsmouth, and bringing up to his house in 
town the innocent sufferer, where they arrived on 
the morning of the 29th October. Miss Heywood 
can best speak her own feelings. 

" Great Russell-street, Monday morning, 
29th October, half past ten o'clock — 
the brightest moment of my existence I 
" My dearest mamma, — I have seen him, clasped 
him to my bosom, and my felicity is beyond expres- 
sion ! In person he is almost even now as I could 
wish ; in mind you know him an angel. I can write 
no more, but to tell you, that the three happiest beings 
at this moment on earth are your most dutiful and 
affectionate children, " Nessy Heywood. 

" Peter Heywood. 
"James Heywood 
" Love to and from all ten thousand times." 

The worthy Mr. Graham adds, "If, my dearest 
madam, it were ever given for mortals to be su- 
premely blest on earth, mine to be sure must be the 
happy family. Heavens ! with what unbounded ex- 
travagance have we been forming our wishes ! and 
yet how far beyond our most unbounded wishes we 
are blest ! Nessy, Maria,* Peter, and James, I see, 
have all been endeavouring to express their feelings. 
I will not fail in any such attempt, for I will not at- 
tempt any thing beyond an assurance that the scene 
I have been witness of, and in which I am happily so 
great a sharer, beggars all description. Permit me, 
however, to offer my most sincere congratulations 
upon the joyful occasion." 

This amiable young lady, some of whose letters 
have been introduced into this narrative, did not long 

,* Mr. Graham's daughter. 



240 the king's warrant. 

survive her brother's liberty. This impassioned and 
most affectionate of sisters, with an excess of sensi- 
bility which acted too powerfully on her bodily 
frame, sunk, as is often the case with such suscepti- 
ble minds, on the first attack of consumption. She 
died within the year of her brother's liberation. On 
this occasion the following note from her afflicted 
mother appears among the papers from which the 
letters and poetry are taken. " My dearest Nessy 
was seized, while on a visit at Major Yorke's, at 
Bishop's Grove, near Tunbridge Wells, with a vio-^ 
lent cold, and not taking proper care of herself, it 
soon turned to inflammation on her lungs, which 
carried her off at Hastings, to which place she was 
taken on the 5th September, to try if the change of 
air, and being near the sea, would recover her ; but 
alas ! it was too late for her to receive the wished-- 
for benefit, and she died there on the 25th of the 
same month, 1793, and has left her only surviving 
parent a disconsolate mother, to lament, while ever' 
she lives, with the most sincere and deep affliction,^ 
the irreparable loss of her most valuable, affectionate, 
and darling daughter."* 

* Several elegiac stanzas were written on the death of this accom- 
plished young lady. The following are dated from her native place, th& 
Isle of Man, where her virtues and accomplishments could best be ap» 
predated. 

" How soon, sweet maid ! how like a fleeting dream 
The winning graces, all thy virtues seem ! 
How soon arrested in thy early bloom 
Has fate decreed thee to the joyless tomb ! 
Nor beauty, genius, nor the muse's care, 
Nor aught could move the tyrant Death to spare : 
Ah ! could their power revoke the stern decree, 
The fatal shaft had pass'd, unfelt by thee ! 
But vain thy wit, thy sentiment refin'd, 
Thy charms external, and accomplish'd mind ; 
Thy artless smiles, that seized the willing heart, 
Thy converse, that could pure delight impart; 
The melting music of thy skilful tongue, 
While judgment listen'd, ravish'd with thy song : 
Not all the gifts that art and nature gave 
Could save thee, lovely Nessy i from the grave. 
Too early lost ! from friendship's bosom torn, 
Oh might I tune thy lyre, and sweetly mouri* 



the king's warrant. 24 

But to return to Mr. Hey wood. When the king's 
full and free pardon had been read to this young offi- 
cer by Captain Montagu, with a suitable admonition 
and congratulation, he addressed that officer in the 
following terms, — so suitably characteristic of his 
noble and manly conduct throughout the whole of 
the distressing business in which he was innocently 
involved : — 

" Sir, — When the sentence of the law was passed 
upon me, I received it, I trust, as became a man ; 
and if it had been carried into execution, I should 
have met my fate, I hope, in a manner becoming a 
Christian. Your admonition cannot fail to make a 
lasting impression on my mind. I receive with 
gratitude my sovereign's mercy, for which my future 
life shall be faithfully devoted to his service."* 



In strains like thine, when beauteous Margaret's(a) fate 
Oppress'd thy friendly heart with sorrow's weight ; 
Then should my numbers flow, and laurels bloom 
In endless spring around fair Nessy's tomb." 
(a) Alluding to some elegant lines, by the deceased, on the death of a 
female friend. 

* The following appears to have been written by Mr. P. Heywood on 
the day that the sentence of condemnation was passed on him. 

" Silence then 

The whispers of complaint,— low in the dust, 

Dissatisfaction's demon's growl unheard, 

All — all is good, all excellent below ; 

Pain is a blessing — sorrow leads to joy—. 

Joy, permanent and solid ! ev'ry ill, 

Grim Death itself, in all its horrors clad, 

Is man's supremest privilege ! it frees 

The soul from prison, from foul sin, from wo, 

And gives it back to glory, rest, and God ! 

Cheerly, my friends, — oh, cheerly ! look not thus 

With Pity's melting softness .'—that alone 

Can shake my fortitude— all is not lost. 

Lo ! I have gain'd on this important day 

A victory consummate o'er myself, 

And o'er this life a victory,— on this day, 

My birthday to eternity, Pve gain'd 

Dismission from a world, where for a while. 

Like you, like all, a pilgrim, passing poou 

A traveller, a stranger, I have met 

X 



242 the king's warrant. 

And well did his future conduct fulfil that promise. 
Notwithstanding the inauspicious manner in which 
the first five years of his servitude in the navy had 
been passed, two of which were spent among muti- 
neers and savages, and eighteen months as a close 
prisoner in irons, in which condition he was ship- 
wrecked and within an ace of perishing, — notwith- 
standing this unpromising commencement, he re- 
entered the naval service under the auspices of his 
uncle, Commodore Pasley, and Lord Hood, who 
presided at his trial, and who earnestly recommended 
him to embark again as a midshipman without delay, 
offering to take him into the Victory, under his own 
immediate patronage. In the course of his service, 
to qualify for the commission of lieutenant, he was 
under the respective commands of three or four dis- 
tinguished officers who had sat on his trial, from all 
of whom he received the most flattering proofs of 
esteem and approbation. To the application of Sir 
Thomas Pasley to Lord Spencer, for his promotion, 
that nobleman, with that due regard he was always 

Still stranger treatment, rude and harsh ! so much 
The dearer, more desired, the home I seek, 
Eternal of my Father, and my God ! 
Then pious Resignation, meek-ey'd pow'r, 
Sustain me still ! Composure still be mine. 
Where rests it ? Oh, mysterious Providence ! 
Silence the wild idea.— I have found 
No mercy yet— no mild humanity, 
With cruel, unrelenting rigour torn, 
And lost in prison — lost to all below !" 
And the following appears to have been Written on the day of the 
king's pardon being received. 

" Oh deem it not 

Presumptuous, that my soul grateful thus rates 
The present high deliv'rance it hath found ; — 
Sole effort of thy wisdom, sov'reign Pow'r, 
Without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls \ 
Oh I may I cease to live, ere cease to bless 
That interposing hand, which turn'd aside- 
Nay, to my life and preservation turn'd,— 
The fatal blow precipitate, ordain'd 
To level all my little hopes in dusty 
And give me— to the grave. 



the king's warrant. 243 

known to pay to the honour and interests of the 
navy, while individual claims were never overlooked, 
gave the following reply, which must have been 
highly gratifying to the feelings of Mr. Heywood 
and his family. 

f( Admiralty, Jan. 13th, 1797. 
" Sir, 
" I should have returned an earlier answer to your 
letter of the 6th instant, if I had not been desirous, 
before I answered it, to look over, with as much at- 
tention as was in my power, the proceedings on the 
court-martial held in the year 1792, by which court 
Mr. Peter Heywood was condemned for being con- 
cerned in the mutiny on board the Bounty. I felt 
this to be necessary, from having entertained a very 
strong opinion that it might be detrimental to the 
interests of his majesty's service, if a person under 
such a predicament should be afterward advanced 
to the higher and more conspicuous situations of the 
navy ; but having, with great attention, perused the 
minutes of that court-martial, as far as they relate 
to Mr. Peter Heywood, I have now the satisfaction 
of being able to inform you, that I think his case was 
such a one as, under all its circumstances (though 
I do not mean to say that the court were not justi- 
fied in their sentence), ought not to be considered as 
a bar to his further progress in his profession ; more 
especially when the gallantry and propriety of his 
conduct in his subsequent service are taken into con- 
sideration. T shall therefore have no difficulty in 
mentioning him to the commander-in-chief on the 
station to which he belongs, as a person from whose 
promotion, on a proper opportunity, I shall derive 
much satisfaction, more particularly from his being 
so nearly connected with you. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. 
(Signed) '* Spencer,'* 



244 PITCAIRNS ISLAND. 

It is not here intended to follow Mr. Heywood 
through his honourable career of service, during the 
long and arduous contest with France, and in the 
several commands with which he was intrusted. In a 
note of his own writing it is stated, that on paying oft* 
the Montagu, in July, 1816, he came on shore, after 
having been actively employed at sea twenty-seven 
years, six months, one week, and five days, out of a 
servitude in the navy of twenty-nine years, seven 
months, and one day. Having reached nearly the 
top of the list of captains, he died in the year 
1831, leaving behind him a high and unblemished 
character in that service of which he was a most 
honourable, intelligent, and distinguished member. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. 

Who by repentance is not satisfied, 
Is nor of heaven nor earth ; for these are pleased ; 
By penitence th' Eternal's wrath 's appeased. 

Twentv years had passed away, and the Bounty, 
and Fletcher Christian, and the piratical crew that 
he had carried off with him in that ship, had long 
ceased to occupy a thought in the public mind. 
Throughout the whole of that eventful period, the 
attention of all Europe had been absorbed in the con- 
templation of " enterprises of great pith and mo- 
ment," — of the revolutions of empires— the bustle 
and business of warlike preparations — the move- 
ments of hostile armies — battles by sea and land, 
and of all " the pomp and circumstance of glorious 
war." If the subject of the Bounty was accident- 
ally mentioned, it was merely to express an opinion 



PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 245 

that this vessel and those within her had gone down 
to the bottom, or that some savage islanders had in- 
flicted on the mutineers that measure of retribution 
so justly due to their crime. It happened however, 
some years before the conclusion of this war of un- 
exampled duration, that an accidental discovery, as 
interesting as it was wholly unexpected, was brought 
to light in consequence of an American trading vessel 
having, by mere chance, approached one of those 
numerous islands in the Pacific against whose steep 
and iron-bound shore the surf almost everlastingly 
rolls with such tremendous violence as to bid defi- 
ance to any attempt of boats to land, except at par- 
ticular times and in very few places. 

The first intimation Of this extraordinary discov- 
ery was transmitted by Sir Sydney Smith from Rio 
de Janeiro, and received at the Admiralty 14th May, 
1809. It was conveyed to him from Valparaiso by 
Lieutenant Fitzmaurice, and was as follows : — 

" Captain Folger, of the American ship Topaz, of 
Boston, relates, that upon landing on Pitcairn's 
Island, inlat. 25° 2' S., long. 130° W.,he found there 
an Englishman, of the name of Alexander Smith, 
the only person remaining of nine that escaped in 
his majesty's late ship Bounty, Captain W. Bligh. 
Smith relates that, after putting Captain Bligh in the 
boat, Christian, the leader of the mutiny, took com- 
mand of the ship and went to Otaheite, where great 
part of the crew left her, except Christian, Smith, 
and seven others, who each took wives, and six Ota- 
heitan men-servants, and shortly after arrived at 
the said island (Pitcaim), where they ran the ship on 
shore, and broke her up; this event took place in the 
year 1790. 

"About four years after their arrival (a great 
jealousy existing), the Otaheitans secretly re- 
volted, and killed every Englishman except himself, 
whom they severely wounded in the neck with a 
pistol ball. The same night, the widows of the de« 
X2 



246 PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 

ceased Englishmen arose and put to death the whole 
of the Otaheitans, leaving Smith the only man alive 
upon the island, with eight or nine women and sev- 
eral small children. On his recovery, he applied 
himself to tilling the ground, so that it now pro- 
duces plenty of yams, cocoanuts, bananas, and plan- 
tains ; hogs and poultry in abundance. There are 
now some grown-up men and women, children of 
the mutineers, on the island, the whole population 
amounting to about thirty-five, who acknowledge 
Smith as father and commander of them all ; they 
all speak English, and have been educated by him 
(as Captain Folger represents) in a religious and 
moral way. 

" The second mate of the Topaz asserts that 
Christian, the ringleader, became insane shortly after 
their arrival on the island, and threw himself off the 
rocks into the sea ; another died of a fever before 
the massacre of the remaining six took place. The 
island is badly supplied with water, sufficient only 
for the present inhabitants, and no anchorage. 

" Smith gave to Captain Folger a chronometer 
made by Kendall, which was taken from him by the 
Governor of Juan Fernandez. 

" Extracted from the log-book of the Topaz, 29th 
Sept. 1808. 

(Signed) " Wm. Fitzmaurice, Lieut. 

" Valparaiso, Oct. 10th, 1808." 

This narrative stated two facts that established 
its general authenticity — the name of Alexander 
Smith, who was one of the mutineers, and the name 
of the maker of the chronometer with which the 
Bounty was actually supplied. Interesting as this 
discovery was considered to be, it does not appear 
that any steps were taken in consequence of this 
authenticated information, the government being at 
that time probably too much engaged in the events 
of the war ; nor was any thing further heard of this 



PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 247 

interesting little society until the latter part of 1814, 
when a letter was transmitted by Rear Admiral Ho- 
tham, then cruising" off the coast of America, from 
Mr. Folger himself, to the same effect as the pre- 
ceding extract from his log, but dated March, 1813. 

In the first-mentioned year (1814) we had two 
frigates cruising in the Pacific, — the Briton, com- 
manded by Sir Thomas Staines, and the Tagus, by 
Captain Pipon. The following letter from the for- 
mer Of these officers was received at the Admiralty 
early in the year 1815. 

" Briton, Valparaiso, 18th Oct. 1814. 

" I have the honour to inform you, that on my 
passage from the Marquesas Islands to this port, on 
the morning of the 17th September, I fell in with 
an island where none is laid down in the Admiralty 
or other charts, according to the several chronom- 
eters of the Briton and Tagus. I therefore hove- 
to, until daylight, and then closed to ascertain 
whether it was inhabited, which I soon discovered 
it to be, and, to my great astonishment, found that 
every individual on the island (forty in number) 
spoke very good English. They proved to be the 
descendants of the deluded crew of the Bounty, 
who, from Otaheite, proceeded to the above-men- 
tioned island, where the ship was burned. 

" Christian appeared to have been the leader and 
sole cause of the mutiny in that ship. A venerable 
old man, named John Adams, is the only surviving 
Englishman of those who last quitted Otaheite in 
her, and whose exemplary conduct and fatherly 
care of the whole of the little colony could not but 
command admiration. The pious manner in which 
all those born on the island have been reared, the 
correct sense of religion which has been instilled 
into their young minds by this old man, has given 
him the pre-eminence over the whole of them, to 



248 pitcatrn's island. 

whom they look up as the father of one and the 
whole family. 

"A son of Christian was the first born on the 
island, now about twenty-five years of age, named 
Thursday October Christian; the elder Christian 
fell a sacrifice to the jealousy of an Otaheitan man, 
within three or four years after their arrival on the 
island. The mutineers were accompanied thither 
by six Otaheitan men and twelve women ; the for- 
mer were all swept away by desperate contentions 
between them and the Englishmen, and five of the 
latter died at different periods, leaving at present 
pnly one man (Adams) and seven women of the 
original settlers. 

" The island must undoubtedly be that called 
Pitcairn, although erroneously laid down in the 
charts. We had the altitude of the meridian sun 
close to it, which gave us 25° 4' S, latitude, and 
130° 25' W. longitude, by the chronometers of the 
Briton and Tagus. 

" It produces in abundance yams, plantains, hogs, 
goats, and fowls ; but the coast affords no shelter 
for a ship or vessel of any description ; neither could 
a ship water there without great difficulty. 

"I cannot, however, refrain from offering my 
opinion, that it is well worthy the attention of our 
laudable religious societies, particularly that for 
propagating the Christian religion, the whole of the 
inhabitants speaking the Otaheitan tongue as well 
as the English. 

" During the whole of the time they have been 
on the island, only one ship has ever communicated 
with them, which took place about six years since, 
and this was the American ship Topaz, of Boston, 
Mayhew Folger, master, 

" The island is completely iron-bound with rocky 
shores, and the landing in boats must be at all times 
difficult, although the island maybe safely approached 
Within a short distance by a ship. 

(Signed) " T. Staines," 



PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 249 

Such was the first official account received of this 
little colony. As some further particulars of a 
society so singular, in all respects, were highly de- 
sirable, Captain Pipon, on being applied to, had the 
kindness to draw up the following narrative, which 
has all the freshness and attraction of a first com- 
munication with a new people. 

Captain Pipon takes a more extended view, in his 
private letter,* of the condition of this little society. 
He observes, that when they first saw the island, 
the latitude made by the Tagus was 24° 40' S. and 
longitude 130° 24' W., the ships being then distant 
from it five or six leagues ; and as in none of the 
charts in their possession was any land laid down 
in or near this meridian, they were extremely puz- 
zled to make out what island it could possibly be ; 
for Pitcairn's Island, being the only one known in' 
the neighbourhood, was represented to be in longi- 
tude 133° 24' W.f If this new discovery, as they 
supposed it to be, awakened their curiosity, it was 
still more excited when they ran in for the land the 
next morning, on perceiving a few huts, neatly built, 
amid plantations laid out apparently with some- 
thing like order and regularity ; and these appear- 
ances confirmed them more than ever that it could 

* With which the editor, at his request, was favoured at the time. 

* The only authority that then existed for laying down this island 
was that of Captain Carteret, who first saw it in 17G7. " It is so high," 
he says, " that we saw it at the distance of more than fifteen leagues, 
and it having been discovered by a young gentieman, son to Major Pit- 
cairn of the marines, who was unfortunately lost in the Aurora, we 
called it Pitcairn's Island." He makes it in lat. 25° 2' S. and long. 
133° 30' W., no less than three degrees out of its true longitude ! Three 
minutes would now be thought a considerable error: such are the 
superior advantages conferred by lunar observations and improvements 
in chronometers. 

Pitcairn's Island has been supposed to be the " Encarnacion" of Quiros, 
by whom it is stated to be in lat. 24° 30', and one thousand leagues 
from the coast of Peru ; but as he describes it as " a low, sandy island, 
almost level with the sea, having a few trees on it," we must look for 
" Encarnacion" somewhere else ; and Duties Island, nearly in that lati- 
tude, very low, and within 5° of longitude from Pitcairn's Island, an- 
swers precisely to it. 



250 fit-cairn's island. 

not be Pitcairn's Island, because that was described 
by navigators to be uninhabited. Presently they 
observed a few natives coming down a steep descent, 
with their canoes on their shoulders ; and in a few 
minutes perceived one of those little vessels darting 
through a heavy surf, and paddling off towards the 
ships ; but their astonishment was extreme when, 
on coming alongside, they were hailed in the Eng- 
lish language with " Won't you heave us a rope 
now ?" 

The first young man that sprung, with extraor- 
dinary alacrity, up the side, and stood before them 
on the deck, said, in reply to the question, " Who 
are you ?" — that his name was Thursday October 
Christian, son of the late Fletcher Christian, by an 
Otaheitan mother ; that he was the first born on the 
island, and that he was so called because he was 
brought into the world on a Thursday in October. 
Singularly strange as all this was to Sir Thomas 
Staines and Captain Pipon, this youth soon satisfied 
them that he was no other than the person he rep- 
resented himself to be, and that he was fully ac- 
quainted with the whole history of the Bounty; 
and, in short, that the island before them was the 
retreat of the mutineers of that ship. Young Chris- 
tian was at this time about twenty-four years of 
age, a fine tall youth, full six feet high, with dark, 
almost black, hair, and a countenance open and exr* 
tremely interesting. As he wore no clothes except 
a piece of cloth round his loins, and a straw hat, 
ornamented with black cock's feathers, his fine figure 
and well-shaped muscular limbs were displayed to 
great advantage, and attracted general admiration. 
His body was much tanned by exposure to the 
weather, and his countenance had a brownish cast 
unmixed, however, with that tinge of red so common 
among the natives of the Pacific islands. 

"Added to a great share of good-humour, we 
Were glad to trace." says Captain Pipon, " in his 



pitcairn's island. 251 

benevolent countenance, all the features of an honest 
English face." He told them he was married to a wo- 
man much older than himself, one of those that ac- 
companied his father from Otaheite. 'The ingenuous 
manner in which he answered all questions put to 
him, and his whole deportment, created a lively in- 
terest among the officers of the ship, who, while they 
admired, could not but regard him with feelings of 
tenderness and compassion; his manner, too, of 
speaking English was exceedingly pleasing, and 
correct both in grammar and pronunciation. His 
companion was a fine handsome youth of seventeen 
or eighteen years of age, of the name of George 
Young, son of Young the midshipman. 

If the astonishment of the two captains was great 
on making, as they thought* this first and extraor- 
dinary discovery of a people who had been so long 
forgotten, and in hearing the offspring of these of- 
fenders speaking their language correctly, their sur- 
prise and interest were still more highly excited 
when, on Sir Thomas Staines taking the two youths 
below, and setting before them something to eat, 
they both rose up, and one of them, placing his 
hands together in a posture of devotion, pronounced, 
distinctly and with emphasis, in a pleasing tone of 
voice, the words, " For what we are going to receive 
the Lord make us truly thankful." 

The youths were themselves greatly surprised at 
the sight of so many novel objects— the size of the 
ship — of the guns, and every thing around them. 
Observing a cow, they were at first somewhat 
alarmed* and expressed a doubt whether it was a 
huge goat or a horned hog, these being the only 
two species of quadrupeds they had ever seem A 
little dog amused them much. " Oh ! what a pretty 
little thing it is !" exclaimed Young. " I know it is 
a dog, for I have heard of such an animal.'* 

These young men informed the two captains of 
many singular events that had taken place among, 



252 PITCAIEN'S ISLAND. 

the first settlers, but referred them for further par- 
ticulars to an old man on shore, whose name, they 
said, was John Adams, the only surviving English- 
man that came away in the Bounty, at which time 
he was called Alexander Smith. 

This information induced the two captains to go 
on shore, desirous of learning correctly from this 
old man the fate, not only of Christian, but of the 
rest of his deluded accomplices, who had adhered 
to his fortunes. The landing they found to be diffi- 
cult, and not wholly free from danger ; but, with the 
assistance of their two able conductors, they passed 
the surf among many rocks, and reached the shore 
without any other inconvenience than a complete 
wetting. Old Adams, having ascertained that the 
two officers alone had landed, and without arms, 
concluded they had no intention to take him prisoner, 
and ventured to come down to the beach, from 
whence he conducted them to his house. He was 
accompanied by his wife,, a very old woman, and 
nearly blind. It seems they were both at first con- 
siderably alarmed ; the sight of the king's uniform, 
after so many years, having no doubt brought fresh 
to the recollection of Adams the scene that occurred 
in the Bounty, in which he bore so conspicuous a 
part. Sir Thomas Staines, however, to set his 
mind at ease y assured him 1 , that so far from having 
come to the island with any intention to take him 
away, they were not even aware that such a person 
as himself existed. Captain Pipon observes, " that 
although in the eye of the law they could only con 
sider him in the light of a criminal of the deepest 
die, yet that it would have been an act of the 
greatest cruelty and inhumanity to have taken him 
away from his little family, who< in such a case 
would have been left to experience the greatest 
misery and distress* and ultimately, in all probability, 
would have perished of want. 

Adams, however,* pretended that he had no great 



pitcairn's island. 253 

share iri the mutiny : said that he was sick in bed 
when it broke out* and was afterward compelled to 
take a musket in his hand ; and expressed his readi- 
ness to go in one of the ships to England, and seemed 
rather desirous to do so. On this being made known 
to the members of the little society, a scene of con- 
siderable distress was witnessed ; his daughter, a fine 
young woman,- threw her arms about his neck, en- 
treating him not to think of leaving them and all his 
little children to perish. All the women burst into 
tears, and the young men stood motionless and ab- 
sorbed in grief; but on their being assured that he 
should* on no account be molested* " It is impos- 
sible," says Captain Pipon, "to describe the uni- 
versal joy that these poor people manifested, and 
the gratitude they expressed for the kindness and 
consideration shown them." 

They now learned from Adams, that Fletcher 
Christian, on finding no good anchorage close to the 
island* and the Bounty being too weakly manned 
again to intrust themselves in her at sea, determined 
to run her into a small creek against the cliff, in 
order the more conveniently to get out of her such 
articles as might be of use or necessary for forming 
an establishment on the island, and to land the hogs, 
goats, and poultry which they had brought from 
Otaheite ; and having accomplished this point, he 
ordered her to be set on fire, with the view, probably, 
of preventing any escape from the island, and also 
to remove an object that* if seen, might excite the 
curiosity Of some passing vessel, and thus be the 
means of discovering his retreat* flis plan suc- 
ceeded, and, by Adams's account, every thing went 
on smoothly for a short time; but it was clear 
enough that this misguided and ill-fated young man 
was never happy after the rash and criminal step 
he had taken ; that he was always sullen and morose, 
and committed so many acts of wanton oppression 
&s very soon incurred the hatred and detestation of 
Y 



234 pitcairn's island. 

his companions in crime, over whom he practised 
that same overbearing conduct of which he accused 
his commander Bligh. The object he had in view 
when he last left Otaheite had now been accom- 
plished; he had discovered an uninhabited island 
out of the common track of ships, and established 
himself and his associates ; so far there was a chance 
that he had escaped all pursuit ; but there was no 
escaping from 

" Those rods of scorpions and those whips of steel 
Which conscience shakes." 

The fate of this misguided young man, brought on 
by his ill treatment both of his associates and the 
Indians he had carried off with him, was such as 
might be expected — he was shot by an Otaheitan 
while digging in his field, about eleven months after 
they had settled on the island, and his death was 
only the commencement of feuds and assassina- 
tions, which ended in the total destruction of the 
whole party except Adams and Young. By the 
account of the former, the settlers from this time 
became divided into two parties, and their grievances 
and quarrels proceeded to such a height, that each 
took every opportunity of putting the other to death. 
Old John Adams was himself shot through the neck, 
but the ball having entered the fleshy part only, he 
was enabled to make his escape and avoid the fury 
of his assailants. The immediate cause of Chris- 
tian's murder was his having forcibly seized on the 
wife of one of the Otaheite men, which so exaspe- 
rated the rest that they not only sought the life of 
the offender, but of others also who might, as they 
thought, be disposed to pursue the same course. 

This interesting little colony was now found to 
contain about forty-six persons, mostly grown-up 
young people, with a few infants. The young men, 
all born on the island, were finely formed, athletic, 
and handsome — their countenances open and pleas- 



pitcairn's island. 255 

ing, indicating much benevolence and goodness of 
heart; but the young women particularly wer& 
objects of attraction, being tall, robust, and beauti- 
fully formed, their faces beaming with smiles and 
indicating unruffled good-humour ; while their man- 
ners and demeanour exhibited a degree of modesty 
and bashfulness that would have done honour to the 
most virtuous and enlightened people on earth. 
Their teeth are described as beautifully white, like 
the finest ivory, and perfectly regular, without a 
single exception ; and all of them, both male and 
female, had the marked expression of English fea- 
tures, though not exactly the clear red and white 
that distinguish English skins, theirs being the colour 
of what we call brunette. Captain Pipon thinks 
that from such a race of people, consisting of fine 
young men and handsome well-formed women, there 
may be expected to arise hereafter, in this little 
colony, a race of people possessing in a high 
degree the physical qualifications of great strength, 
united with symmetry of form and regularity of 
feature. 

But their personal qualifications, attractive as 
they were, excited less admiration than the account 
which Adams gave of their virtuous conduct. He 
assured his visiters that not one instance of debauch- 
ery or immoral conduct had occurred among these 
young people since their settlement on the island ; 
nor did he ever hear or believe that any one instance 
had occurred of a young woman having suffered inde- 
cent liberties to be taken with her. Their native mod- 
esty, assisted by the precepts of religion and morality 
instilled into their young minds by John Adams, had 
hitherto preserved these interesting people from 
every kind of debauchery. The young women told 
Captain Pipon, with great simplicity, that they were 
not married, and that their lather, as they called 
Adams, had told them it was right they should 
wait with patience till they had acquired sufficient 



256 pitcairn's island. 

property to bring up a young family before they 
thought of marrying ; and that they always followed 
his advice, because they knew it to be good. 

It appeared that from the time when Adams was 
left alone on the island, the sole survivor of all the 
males that had landed from the Bounty, European 
and Otaheitan, the greatest harmony had prevailed 
in their little society; they all declared that no 
serious quarrels ever occurred among them, though 
a few hasty words might now and then be uttered ; 
but, to make use of their own expression, they were 
only quarrels of the mouth. Adams assured his 
visiters that they were all strictly honest in all their 
dealings, lending or exchanging their various articles 
of livestock or produce with each other in the most 
friendly manner ; and if any little dispute occurred, 
he never found any difficulty to rectify the mistake 
or misunderstanding that might have caused it, to 
the satisfaction of both parties. In their general 
intercourse they speak the English language com- 
monly; and even the old Otaheitan women have 
picked up a good deal of this language. The young 
people, both male and female, speak it with a 
pleasing accent, and their voices are extremely har- 
monious. 

The little village of Pitcairn is described as form- 
ing a pretty square ; the house of John Adams, with 
its out-houses, occupying the upper corner, near a 
large banyaiL-tree, and that of Thursday October 
Christian the lower corner opposite to it. The 
centre space is a fine open lawn, where the poultry 
wander, and is fenced around so as to prevent the 
intrusion of the hogs and goats. It was obviously 
visible, from the manner in which the grounds were 
laid out and the plantations formed, that in this 
little establishment the labour and ingenuity of 
European hands had been employed. In their houses 
jthey have a good deal of decent furniture, consisting 
of beds and bedsteads with coverings. They have 



257: 

also tables and large chests for their clothing; and 
their linen is made from the bark of a certain tree, 
and the manufacture of it is the employment of the 
elderly portion of the women. The bark is first 
soaked, then beaten with square pieces of wood of 
the breadth of one's hand, hollowed out into grooves, 
and the labour is continued until it is brought to 
the breadth required, in the same manner as the 
process is conducted in Otaheite. 

The younger part of the females are obliged to 
attend, with old Adams and their brothers, to the 
culture of the land ; and Captain Pipon thinks this 
may be one reason why this old director of the 
work does not countenance too early marriages, for, 
as he very properly observed, when once they be- 
come mothers they are less capable of hard labour, 
being obliged to attend to their children ; and, judg- 
ing from appearance, " one may conclude," says the 
captain, " they would be prolific ;" that " he did not 
see how it could be otherwise, considering the regu- 
larity of their lives, their simple and excellent though 
abstemious mode of living, their meals consisting 
chiefly of a vegetable diet, with now and then good 
pork, and occasionally fish." 

The young girls, although they have only the 
example of their Otaheitan mothers to follow in 
their dress, are modestly clothed, having generally 
a piece of cloth of their own manufacture reaching 
from the waist to the knees, and a mantle, or some- 
thing of that nature, thrown loosely over the shoul- 
ders, and hanging sometimes as low as the ankles : 
this mantle, however, is frequently thrown aside, 
being used rather as a shelter for their bodies from 
the heat of the sun or the severity of the weather, 
than for the sake of attaching any idea of modesty 
to the upper part of the person being uncovered ; 
and it is not possible, he says, to behold finer forms 
than are exhibited by this partial exposure. Cap- 
tain Pipon observes, " it was pleasing to see the ' 
Y2 



258 pitcairn's island. 

good taste and quickness with which, they form 
little shades or parasols of green leaves, to place 
over the head or bonnets to keep the sun from their 
eyes. A young girl made one of these in my pres^ 
ence, with such neatness and alacrity as to satisfy 
me that a fashionable dressmaker of London would 
be delighted with the simplicity and elegant taste 
of these untaught females." The same young girl, 
he says, accompanied them to the boat, carrying on 
her shoulders, as a present, a large basket of yams, 
" over such roads and down such precipices as were 
scarcely passable by any creatures except goats, 
and over which we could scarcely scramble with the 
help of our hands. Yet with this load on her shoul- 
ders she skipped from rock to rock like a young 
roe." 

" But," says Captain Pipon, " what delighted us 
most was the conviction which John Adams had 
impressed on the minds of these young people, of 
the propriety and necessity of returning thanks to 
the Almighty for the many blessings they enjoy, 
They never omit saying grace before and after 
meals, and never think of touching food without 
asking a blessing from Him who gave it. The Lord's 
Prayer and the Creed they repeat morning and 
evening." 

Captain Pipon imagines the island to be about six 
miles long and perhaps three or four miles broad, 
covered with wood ; the soil apparently very rich, 
and the variety of products great and valuable, but 
much labour would seem to be required to clear away 
the woods. The dimensions here given, however, 
are much greater than they have subsequently been 
found to be. 

The visiters having supplied these poor people 
with some tools, kettles, and other articles, such as 
the high surf would allow them, with the assistance 
of the natives, to land, but to no great extent, the 
;two ojficers again passed through the surf, with the 



259 

same assistance, and took leave of these interesting 
people — satisfied that the island is so well fortified 
by nature as to oppose an invincible barrier to an 
invading enemy ; that there was no spot apparently 
where a boat could land with safety, and perhaps 
not more than one where it could land at all ; an 
everlasting swell of the ocean, rolling in on every 
side, is dashed into foam against its rocky and iron- 
bound shores. 

Such were the first details that were received 
respecting this young settlement. It may here be 
remarked, that at the time when Folger visited the 
island Alexander Smith went by his proper name, 
and that he had changed it to John Adams in the 
intermediate time between his visit and that of Sir 
Thomas Staines ; but it does not appear in any of 
the accounts which have been given of this inter- 
esting little colony, when or for what reason he 
assumed the latter name. It could not be with any 
view to concealment, for he freely communicated 
his history to Folger, and equally so to every subse- 
quent visiter. 

The interesting account of Captains Sir Thomas 
Staines and Pipon, in 1814, produced as little effect 
on the government as that of Folger ; and nothing 
more was heard of Adams and his family for twelve 
years nearly, when, in 1825, Captain Beechey, in the 
Blossom, bound on a voyage of discovery, paid a 
visit to Pitcairn's Island. Some whale-fishing ship, 
however, had touched there in the intermediate 
time, and left on the island a person of the name of 
John Buffet. " In this man," says Captain Beechey, 
" they have very fortunately found an able and will- 
ing schoolmaster ; he had belonged to a ship which 
visited the island, and was so infatuated with the 
behaviour of the people, being himself naturally of 
a devout and serious turn of mind, that he resolved 
to remain among them; and, in addition to the 
instruction of the children, has taken upon himself 



260 

the duty of clergyman, and is the oracle of the com- 
munity." 

On the approach of the Blossom towards the 
island, a boat was observed, under all sail, hastening 
towards the ship, which they considered to be the 
boat of some whaler, but were soon agreeably un- 
deceived by the singular appearance of her crew, 
which consisted of old Adams and many of the young 
men belonging to the island. They did not venture 
at once to lay hold of the ship till they had first 
inquired if they might come on board ; and on per- 
mission being granted, they sprung up the side and 
shook every officer by the hand with undisguised 
feelings of gratification. 

The activity of the young men, ten in number, 
outstripped that of old Adams, who was in his sixty- 
fifth year, and somewhat corpulent. He was dressed 
in a sailor's shirt and trousers and a low-crowned 
hat, which he held in his hand until desired to put 
it on. He still retained his sailor's manners, dof- 
fing his hat and smoothing down his bald forehead 
whenever he was addressed by the officers of the 
Blossom. 

The young men were tall, robust, and healthy, 
with good-natured countenances, and a simplicity 
of manner, and a fear of doing something that 
might be wrong, which at once prevented the pos- 
sibility of giving offence. Their dresses were 
whimsical enough ; some had long coats without 
trousers, and others trousers without coats, and 
others again waistcoats without either. None of 
them had either shoes or stockings, and there were 
only two hats among them, "neither of which," 
Captain Beechey says, " seemed likely to hang long 
together." 

Captain Beechey procured from Adams a narra- 
tive of the whole transaction of the mutiny, which, 
however, is incorrect in many parts ; and also a his- 
tory of the broils and disputes which led to the vio» 



pitcairn's island. 261 

lent death of all those misguided men (with the 
exception of Young and Adams) who accompanied 
Christian in the Bounty to Pitcairn's Island. 

It may be recollected that the Bounty was carried 
away from Otaheite by nine of the mutineers. Their 
names were 

1. Fletcher Christian, Acting Lieutenant. 

2. Edward Young, Midshipman. 

3. Alexander Smith (alias John Adams), Seaman. 

4. William M'Koy, ) 

5. Matthew Quintal, f «.„„„„, 

6. John Williams, ( Seamen - 

7. Isaac Martin, ) 

8. John Mills, Gunner's Mate. 

9. William Brown, Botanist's Assistant. 

They brought with them six men and twelve 
women, natives of Tabouai and Otaheite. The first 
step after their arrival was to divide the whole island 
into nine equal portions, to the exclusion of those 
poor people whom they had seduced to accompany 
them, and some of whom are stated to have been 
carried off against their inclination. At first they 
were considered as the friends of the white men, 
but very soon became their slaves. They assisted 
in the cultivation of the soil, in building houses, and 
in fetching wood and water, without murmuring or 
complaining; and things went on peaceably and 
prosperously for about two years, when Williams, 
who had lost his wife about a month after their 
arrival, by a fall from a rock while collecting birds' 
eggs, became dissatisfied, and insisted on having 
another wife, or threatened to leave the island in 
one of the Bounty's boats. Being useful as an 
armourer, the Europeans were unwilling to part 
with him, and he, still persisting in his unreasonable 
demand, had the injustice to compel one of the Ota- 
heitans to give up his wife to him. 

By this act of flagrant oppression his countrymen 
made common cause with their injured companion, 
jand laid a plan for the extermination of the Euro- 



262 pit-cairn's island. 

peans; but the women gave a hint of what was 
going forward in a song, the burden of which was, 
" Why does black man sharpen axe ] — to kill white 
man." The plot being thus discovered, the hus- 
band who had his wife taken from him, and another 
whom Christian had shot at (though, it is stated, 
with powder only), fled into the woods, and were 
treacherously murdered by their countrymen on the 
promise of pardon for the perpetration of this foul 
deed. 

Tranquillity being thus restored, matters went on 
tolerably well for a year or two longer; but the 
oppression and ill treatment which the Otaheitans 
received, more particularly from Quintal and M'Koy, 
the most active and determined of the mutineers, 
drove them to the formation of another plot for the 
destruction of their oppressors, which but too sue 
cessfully succeeded. A day was fixed for attacking 
and putting to death all the Englishmen while at 
work in their respective plantations. Williams was 
the first man that was shot. They next proceeded 
to Christian, who was working at his yam-plot, and 
shot him. Mills, confiding in the fidelity of his 
Otaheitan friend, stood his ground, and was mur- 
dered by him and another. Martin and Brown were 
separately attacked and slain, one with a maul, the 
other with a musket. Adams was wounded in the 
shoulder, but succeeded in making terms with the 
Otaheitans, and was conducted by them to Christian's 
house, where he was kindly treated. Young, who 
was a great favourite of the women, was secreted 
by them during the attack, and afterward carried 
to Christian's house. M'Koy and Quintal, the worst 
of the gang, escaped to the mountains. . " Here," 
says Captain Beechey, "this day of bloodshed 
ended, leaving only four Englishmen alive out of 
nine. It was a day of emancipation to the blacks, 
who were now masters of the island, and of humilia- 
tion and retribution to the whites." 



pitcairn's island. 263 

The men of colour now began to quarrel about 
choosing the women whose European husbands had 
been murdered ; the result of which was the destruc- 
tion of the whole of the former, some falling by the 
hands of the women, and one of them by Young, who, 
it would seem, coolly and deliberately shot him. 
Adams now proceeded into the mountains to com- 
municate the fatal intelligence to the two Euro- 
peans, M'Koy and Quintal, and to solicit their return 
to the village. All these events are stated to have 
happened as early as October, 1793. 

From this time to 1798 the remnant of the colo- 
nists would appear to have gone on quietly, with 
the exception of some quarrels these four men had 
with the women, and the latter among themselves ; 
ten of them were still remaining, who lived promis- 
cuously with the men, frequently changing their 
abode from one house to another. Young, being a 
man of some education, kept a kind of journal ; but 
it is a document of very little interest, containing 
scarcely any thing more than the ordinary occupa- 
tions of the settlers, the loan or exchange of pro- 
visions, the dates when the sows farrowed, the num- 
ber of fish caught, &c, and it begins only at the time 
when Adams and he were sole masters of the island ; 
and the truth, therefore, of all that has been told 
rests solely on the degree of credit that is due to 
Adams. 

M'Koy, it appears, had formerly been employed 
in a Scotch distillery, and being much addicted to 
ardent spirits, set about making experiments on the 
tee-root (dracana terminalis), and at length unfor- 
tunately succeeded in producing an intoxicating 
liquor. This success induced his companion Quintal 
to turn his kettle into a still. The consequence 
was, that these two men were in a constant state 
of drunkenness, particularly M'Koy ; on whom, it 
seems, it had the effect of producing fits of delirium j 
and in one of these he threw himself from a cliff and 



264 pitcairn's island. 

was killed on the spot. Captain Beechey says, " the 
melancholy fate of this man created so forcible an 
impression on the remaining few, that they resolved 
never again to touch spirits ; and Adams has, I be- 
lieve, to this day kept his vow." 

Some time in the following year, that is, about 
1799, " we learned from Adams," says Captain 
Beechey, " that Quintal lost his wife by a fall from 
the cliff, while in search of birds' eggs ; that he 
grew discontented, and, though there were several 
disposable women on the island, and he had already 
experienced the fatal effects of a similar demand, 
nothing would satisfy him but the wife of one of his 
companions. Of course neither of them felt inclined 
to accede to this unreasonable demand; and he 
sought an opportunity of putting them both to death. 
He was fortunately foiled in his first attempt, but 
swore openly he would speedily repeat it. Adams 
and Young, having no doubt he would follow up his 
intention, and fearing he might be more successful 
in the next attempt, came to the resolution that, as 
their own lives were not safe while he was in exist- 
ence, they were justified in putting him to death, 
which they did by felling him, as they would an ox, 
with a hatchet. 

" Such was the melancholy fate of seven of the 
leading mutineers, who escaped from justice only to 
add murder to their former crimes ;" and such, it 
may be added, was the polluted source, thus stained 
with the guilt of mutiny, piracy, and murder, from 
which the present simple and innocent race of 
islanders has proceeded ; and, what is most of all 
extraordinary, the very man from whom they have 
received their moral and religious instruction is one 
who was among the first and foremost in the mu- 
tiny, and deeply implicated in all the deplorable con-' 
sequences that were the results of it. This man 
and Young were now the sole survivors out of the 
fifteen males that had landed upon the island* 



pitcairn's island. 265 

Young, as has been stated, was a man of some edu- 
cation, and of a serious turn of mind; and, as 
Beechey says, it would have been wonderful, after 
the many dreadful scenes at which they had assisted, 
if the solitude and tranquillity that ensued had not 
disposed them to repentance. They had a Bible and 
a Prayer Book, which were found in the Bounty, 
and they read the church service regularly every 
Sunday. They now resolved to have morning and 
evening family prayers, and to instruct the children, 
who amounted to nineteen, many of them between 
the ages of seven and nine years. Young, however, 
Was not long suffered to survive his repentance. An 
asthmatic complaint terminated his existence about 
a year after the death of Quintal ; and Adams was 
now left the sole survivor of the guilty and mis- 
guided mutineers of the Bounty. It is remarkable 
that the name of Young should never once occur in 
any shape as connected with the mutiny, except in 
the evidence of Lieutenant Hayward, who includes 
his name in a mass of others. He neither appears 
among the armed nor the unarmed ; he is not stated 
to be among those who were on deck, and was 
probably therefore one of those who were confined 
below. Bligh, nevertheless, has not omitted to give 
him a character. "Young was an able and stout 
seaman; he, however, always proved a worthless 
wretch." 

If the sincere repentance of Adams, and the most 
successful exertions to train up the rising generation 
in piety and virtue, can be considered as expiating 
in some degree his former offences, this survivor is 
fully entitled to every indulgence that frail humanity 
so often requires, and which indeed has been ex- 
tended to him by all the officers of the navy who 
have visited the island, and witnessed the simple 
manners and the settled habits of morality and piety 
which prevail in this happy and well-regulated so- 
ciety. They have all strongly felt that the merits 
Z 



266 PITCAIRNS ISLAND. 

and redeeming qualities of the latter years of his life 
have so far atoned for his former guilt, that he ought 
not to be molested, but rather encouraged, in his 
meritorious efforts, if not for his own sake, at least 
for that of the innocent young people dependent 
on him. 

Still it ought never to be forgotten that he was 
one of the first and most daring in the atrocious act 
of mutiny and piracy, and that had he remained in 
Otaheite, and been taken home in the Pandora, no- 
thing could have saved him from an ignominious 
death. His pretending to say that he was in his cot, 
and that he was forced to take arms, may perhaps 
be palliated under his peculiar circumstances, wish- 
ing to stand as fair before his countrymen as his 
case would admit — but it is not strictly true : for he 
was the third upon deck armed, and stood sentry 
over Bligh with a loaded musket and fixed bayonet. 
The story he told to Beechey respecting the advice 
stated to have been given by Mr. Stewart to Chris- 
tian, " to take possession of the ship," is, as has 
been shown, wholly false ; but here his memory 
may have failed him. If any such advice was given, 
it is much more likely to have proceeded from 
Young. He also told two different stories with re- 
gard to the conduct of Christian. To Sir Thomas 
Staines and Captain Pipon he represented this ill- 
fated young man as never happy after the rash and 
criminal step he had taken, and that he was always 
sullen and morose, and committed so many acts of 
cruelty as to incur the hatred and detestation of his 
associates in crime. Whereas he told Captain 
Beechey that Christian was always cheerful ; that 
his example was of the greatest service in exciting 
his companions to labour ; that he was naturally of 
a happy, ingenuous disposition, and won the good 
opinion and respect of all who served under him : 
which cannot be better exemplified, he says, than by 
his maintaining under circumstances of great per- 



pitcairn's island. 267 

plexity the respect and regard of all who were asso- 
ciated with him up to the hour of his death ; and 
that even at the present moment Adams, in speak- 
ing of him, never omits to say Mr. Christian. Why 
indeed should he 1 Christian was a gentleman by 
birth, and an officer in his majesty's service, and was 
of course always so addressed. But why was he 
murdered within two years (one account says nine 
months) after the party reached the island ? Cap- 
tain Beechey has answered the question — for op- 
pression and ill treatment of the Otaheitans.* 

That Christian, so far from being cheerful, was, 
on the contrary, always uneasy in his mind about 
his own safety, is proved by his having selected a 

* As the manner of Christian's death has been differently reported to 
each different visiter by Adams, the only evidence in existence, with the 
exception of three or four Otaheitan women and a few infants, some sin- 
gular circumstances may here be mentioned that happened at home, just 
at the time of Folger's visit, and which might render his death on Pit- 
cairn's Island almost a matter of doubt. 

About the years 1808 and 1809 a very general opinion was prevalent in 
the neighbourhood of the lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, that 
Christian was in that part of the country, and made frequent private 
visits to an aunt who was living there. Being the near relative of Mr. 
Christian Curwen, long member of parliament for Carlisle, and himself 
a native, he was well known in the neighbourhood. This, however, 
might be passed over as mere gossip, had not another circumstance hap- 
pened just about the same time, for the truth of which the editor does 
not hesitate to avouch. 

In F6re-street, Plymouth Dock, Captain Heywood found himself one 
day walking behind a man whose shape had so much the appearance of 
Christian's that he involuntarily quickened his pace. Both were walk- 
ing very fast, and the rapid steps behind him having roused the stran- 
ger's attention, he suddenly turned his face, looked at Heywood, and 
immediately ran off. But the face was as much like Christian's as the 
back, and Heywood, exceedingly excited, ran also. Both ran as fast as 
they were able, but the stranger had the advantage, and after making 
several short turns disappeared. 

That Christian should be in England Heywood considered as highly 
improbable, though not out of the scope of possibility ; for at this time 
no account of him whatsoever had been received since they parted at 
Otaheite ; at any rate the resemblance, the agitation, and the efforts of 
the stranger to elude him were circumstances too strong not to make 
a deep impression on his mind. At the moment his first thought was 
to set about making some further inquiries, but on recollection of the 
pain and trouble such a discovery must occasion him, he considered is 
more prudent to let the matter drop ; but the circumstance was fre- 
quently called to his memory for the remainder of his life. 



268 pitcairn's island. 

cave at the extremity of the high ridge of craggy 
hills that runs across the island, as his intended place 
of refuge in the event of any ship of war discover- 
ing the retreat of the mutineers, in which cave he 
resolved to sell his life as dearly as he could. In 
this recess he always kept a store of provisions, and 
near it erected a small hut, well concealed by trees, 
which served the purpose of a watch-house. " So 
difficult," says Captain Beechey, " was the approach 
to this cave, that even if a party were successful in 
crossing the ridge, he might have bid defiance, as 
long as his ammunition lasted, to any force." The 
reflection alone of his having sent adrift, to perish 
on the wide ocean, for he could entertain no other 
idea, no less than nineteen persons, all of whom, one 
only excepted, were innocent of any offence towards 
him, must have constantly haunted his mind, and 
left him little disposed to be happy and cheerful. 

The truth is, as appears in Morrison's journal, that 
during the short time they remained at Tabouai, and 
till the separation of the mutineers at Otaheite, when 
sixteen forsook him, and eight only of the very 
worst accompanied him in quest of some retreat, he 
acted the part of a tyrant to a much greater extent 
than the man who, he says, drove him to the act of 
mutiny. After giving an account of the manner of 
his death, Captain Beechey says, " Thus fell a man 
who from being the reputed ringleader of the mu- 
tiny has obtained an unenviable celebrity, and whose 
crime may perhaps be considered as in some degree 
palliated by the tyranny which led to its commis- 
sion." It is to be hoped, such an act as he. was 
guilty of will never be so considered. 

If mutiny could be supposed to admit of palliation, 
a fatal blow would be struck, not only at the dis- 
cipline, but at the very existence of the navy; any 
relaxation in bringing to condign punishment per- 
sons guilty of mutiny would weaken and ultimately 
destroy the efficiency of this great and powerful ma- 



pitcairn's island. 260 

chine. Nor, indeed, is it at all necessary that the 
punishment for mutiny should admit of any pallia- 
tion. Whenever an act of tyranny, or an unneces- 
sary degree of severity, is exercised by a command- 
ing officer, let the fact only be proved, and he is 
certain to be visited with all the rigour that the de- 
gree of his oppressive conduct will warrant. Had 
Christian but waited patiently the arrival of the 
Bounty in England, and the alleged conduct of Bligh 
towards his officers and crew had been proved, he 
would, unquestionably, have been dismissed from his 
majesty's service. 

With regard to Adams, though his subsequent 
conduct was highly meritorious, and to him alone it 
might be said is owing the present happy state of 
the little community on Pitcairn's Island, his crime, 
like that of Christian's, can never be considered as 
wiped away. Sir Thomas Staines, the first British 
officer who called at the island, it may well be sup- 
posed, had to struggle on this trying occasion be- 
tween duty and feeling. It was his imperative duty 
to have seized and brought him a prisoner to Eng- 
land, where he must have been tried, and would no 
doubt have been convicted of a crime for which 
several of his less active accomplices had suffered 
the penalty of death ; though he might, and probably 
would, from length of time and circumstances in his 
favour, have received the king's pardon. Perhaps, 
however, on the whole, it was fortunate that in 
balancing, as it is known this gallant officer did, be- 
tween the sense of duty and the sense of feeling the 
latter prevailed, and justice yielded to mercy. Had 
a Bligh or an Edwards been placed in his situation, 
it is to be feared that, judging from their former con- 
duct, passion in the one, and frigidity in the other, 
would most likely have consigned the criminal to 
captivity in irons, and the innocent and helpless 
family solely dependent on him to misery and de- 
struction ; and yet in so doing they would not have 
Z2 



270 pitcairn's island. 

deviated from their strict line of duty, — Dis ahter 
visum. 

The Blossom was the first ship of war that John 
Adams had been on board of since the mutiny ; and, 
as Captain Beechey observes, his mind would natu- 
rally revert to scenes that could not fail to produce 
a temporary embarrassment, but no apprehension 
for his safety appeared to form any part of his 
thoughts ; and as every person endeavoured to set 
his mind at rest, he soon found himself at ease and 
at home. It was several hours before the ship ap- 
proached the shore, and the boats put off before she 
came to an anchor. 

On account of the rocks and formidable breakers, 
the party who went on shore were landed by the 
young men, two at a time, in their whale-boat. 
" The difficulty of landing," says Captain Beechey, 
" was more than repaid by the friendly reception we 
met with on the beach from Hannah Young, a very 
interesting young woman, the daughter of Adams. 
In her eagerness to greet her father, she had outrun 
her female companions, for whose delay she thought 
it necessary in the first place to apologize, by say- 
ing they had all been over the hill in company with 
John Buffet, to look at the ship, and were not yet 
returned. It appeared that John Buffet, who was a 
seafaring man, had ascertained that the ship was a 
man-of-war, and, without knowing exactly why, be- 
came so alarmed for the safety of Adams, that he 
either could not or would not answer any of the inter- 
rogatories which were put to him. This mysterious 
silence set all the party in tears, as they feared he 
had discovered something adverse to their patriarch. 
At length his obduracy yielded to their entreaties ; 
but before he explained the cause of his conduct, the 
boats were seen to put off from the ship, and Han- 
nah immediately hurried to the beach to kiss the old 
man's cheek, which she did with a fervency demon- 
strative of the warmest affection. Her apology for 



pitcairn's island. 271 

her companions was rendered unnecessary by their 
appearance on the steep and circuitous path down 
the mountain, who, as they arrived on the beach, 
successively welcomed us to their island, with a sim- 
plicity and sincerity which left no doubt of the truth 
of their professions." 

The whole group simultaneously expressed a wish 
that the visiters would stay with them several days; 
and On their signifying a desire to get to the village 
before dark, and to pitch the observatory, every ar- 
ticle and instrument found a bearer, along a steep 
path which led to the village, concealed by groups 
of cocoanut-trees ; the females bearing their bur- 
thens over the most difficult parts without inconve- 
nience. The village consisted of five houses, on a 
cleared piece of ground sloping towards the sea. 
"While the men assisted in pitching the tent, the 
women employed themselves in preparing the supper. 
The mode of cooking was precisely that of Otaheite, 
by heated stones m a hole made in the ground. At 
young Christian's the table was spread with plates, 
knives, and forks. John Buffet said grace in an em- 
phatic manner, and this is repeated every time a fresh 
guest sits down while the meal is going on. So 
strict are they in this respect, that it is not deemed 
proper to touch a bit of bread without saying grace 
before and after it. " On one occasion," says Cap- 
tain Beechey, " I had engaged Adams in conversa- 
tion, and he incautiously took the first mouthful with- 
out having said grace ; but before he had swallowed 
it he recollected himself, and feeling as if he had 
committed a crime, immediately put away what he 
had in his mouth, and commenced his prayer." 
Their rooms and table are lighted up by torches made 
of doodoe nuts {aleurites triloba), strung upon the 
fibres of a palm-leaf, which form a good substitute 
for candles. 

It is remarkable enough, that although the female 
part of the society is highly respected, yet in one 



272 pitcairn's island. 

instance a distinction is kept up which in civilized 
countries would be deemed degrading. It is that 
which is rigidly observed in all the South Sea 
islands, and indeed throughout almost the whole 
eastern world, that no woman shall eat in the 
presence of her husband ; and though this distinc- 
tion between man and wife is not carried quite so far 
in Pitcairn's Island, it is observed to the extent of 
excluding all women from table when there is a de- 
ficiency of seats. It seems they defended the cus- 
tom on the ground that man was made before woman, 
and is entitled, therefore, to be first served — a con- 
clusion, observes Beechey, " that deprived us of the 
company of the women at table during the whole 
of our stay at the island. Far, however, from con- 
sidering themselves neglected, they very good-na- 
turedly chatted with us behind our seats, and flapped 
away the flies, and by a gentle tap, accidentally or 
playfully delivered, reminded us occasionally of the 
honour that was done us." The vomen, when the 
men had finished, sat down to what remained. 

The beds were next prepared. A mattress com- 
posed of palm-leaves was covered with native cloth 
made of the paper mulberry-tree, in the same man- 
ner as in Otaheite ; the sheets were of the same 
material, and it appeared from their crackling that 
they were quite new from the loom, or rather the 
beater. The whole arrangement is stated to have 
been comfortable, and inviting to repose ; one inter- 
ruption only disturbed their first sleep ; this was the 
melody of the evening hymn, which, after the lights 
were put out, was chanted by the whole family in the 
middle of the room. At early dawn they were 
also awaked by their morning hymn and the family 
devotion ; after which the islanders all set out to 
their several occupations. Some of the women had 
taken the linen of their visiters to wash ; others 
were preparing for the next meal ; and others were 
employed in the manufacture of cloth. 



pitcairn's island. 273 

The innocence and simplicity of these interesting 
young creatures are strongly exemplified in the fol- 
lowing description. " By our bedside had already 
been placed some ripe fruits; and our hats were 
crowned with chaplets of the fresh blossom of the nono 
or flower-tree (Morinda citrifolia), which the women 
had gathered in the freshness of the morning dew. 
On looking round the apartment, though it contained 
several beds, we found no partition, curtain, or 
screens; they had not yet been considered neces- 
sary. So far indeed from concealment being thought 
of, when we were about to get up, the women, 
anxious to show their attention, assembled to wish 
us good morning, and to inquire in what way they 
could best contribute to our comforts, and to present 
us with some little gift which the produce of the 
island afforded. Many persons would have felt 
awkward at rising and dressing before so many 
pretty black-eyed damsels, assembled in the centre 
of a spacious room ; but by a little habit we overcame 
this*embarrassment, and found the benefit of theii 
services in fetching water as we required it, and in 
substituting clean linen for such as we pulled off." 

Their cottages are spacious, and strongly built of 
wood, in an oblong form, and thatched with the 
leaves of the palm-tree bent round the stem of a 
branch from the same, and laced horizontally to 
rafters so placed as to give a proper pitch to the 
roof. An upper story is appropriated to sleeping, 
and has four beds, one in each angle of the room, 
and large enough for three or four persons to sleep 
on. The lower is the eating-room, having a broad 
table with several stools placed round it. The lower 
room communicates with the upper by a stout lad- 
der in the centre. Immediately round the village 
are small enclosures for fattening pigs, goats, and 
poultry ; and beyond them are the cultivated grounds 
producing the banana, plantain, melon, yam, taro, 
sweet potatoes, tee-tree, cloth-plant, with other useful 



274 pitcairn's island. 

roots, fruits, and a variety of shrubs. Every cot- 
tage has its out-house for making cloth, its baking- 
place, its pig-sty, and its poultry-house. 

During the stay of the strangers on the island, 
they dined sometimes with one person and some- 
times with another, their meals being always the 
same, and consisting of baked pig, yams, and taro, 
and sometimes sweet potatoes. Goats are nume- 
rous on the island, but neither their flesh nor their 
milk is relished by the natives. Yams constitute 
their principal food, either boiled, baked, or mixed 
with cocoanut, made into cakes, and eaten with mo- 
lasses extracted from the tee-root. Taro-root is no 
bad substitute for bread ; and bananas, plantains, and 
appoi are wholesome and nutritive fruits. The com- 
mon beverage is water, but they make tea from the 
tee-plant, flavoured with ginger, and sweetened with 
the juice of the sugar-cane. They but seldom kill 
a pig, living mostly on fruit and vegetables. With 
this simple diet, early rising, and taking a great deal 
of exercise, they are subject to few diseases ; and 
Captain Beechey says, " they are certainly a finer 
and more athletic race than is usually found among 
the families of mankind." 

The young children are punctual in their attend- 
ance at school, and are instructed by John Buffet in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic ; to which are added 
precepts of religion and morality, drawn chiefly from 
the Bible and Prayer Book; than which, fortunately, 
they possess no others, that might mystify and 
perplex their understandings on religious subjects. 
They seldom indulge in jokes or other kinds of 
levity ; and Beechey says they are so accustomed to 
take what is said in its literal meaning, that irony 
was always considered a falsehood in spite of ex- 
planation ; and that they could not see the propriety 
of uttering what was not strictly true, for any pur- 
pose whatever. The Sabbath is wholly devoted to 
the church service, to prayer, reading, and serious 



pitcairn's island. 275 

meditation ; no work of any kind is done on that 
day, not even cooking, which is prepared on the pre- 
ceding evening. 

"I attended," says Beechey, "their church on 
this day, and found the service well conducted ; the 
prayers were read by Adams, and the lessons by 
Buffet, the service being preceded by hymns. The 
greatest devotion was apparent in every individual ; 
and in the children there was a seriousness unknown 
in the younger part of our communities at home. 
In the course of the Litany, they prayed for their 
sovereign and all the royal family, with much ap- 
parent loyalty and sincerity. Some family prayers 
which were thought appropriate to their own particu- 
lar case were added to the usual service ; and Adams, 
fearful of leaving out any essential part, read in ad- 
dition all those prayers which are intended only as 
substitutes for others. A sermon followed, which 
was very well delivered by Buffet ; and lest any part 
of it should be forgotten, or escape attention, it was 
read three times. The whole concluded with hymns, 
which were first sung by the grown people, and 
afterward by the children. The service thus per- 
formed was very long ; but the neat and cleanly ap- 
pearance of the congregation, the devotion that ani- 
mated every countenance, and the innocence and 
simplicity of the little children, prevented the at- 
tendance from becoming wearisome. In about half 
an hour afterward we again assembled to prayers, 
and at sunset service was repeated ; so that, with 
their morning and evening prayers, they may be said 
to have church five times on a Sunday." 

Perhaps it will be thought by some that they carry 
their seriousness too far, and that the younger people 
are not allowed a sufficient quantity of recreation. 
The exercise and amusement of dancing, once so 
much resorted to in most of the islands of the Pa- 
cific, is here almost excluded. With great difficulty 
and much entreaty, the visiters prevailed on three 



276 pitcairn's island. 

grown-up ladies to stand up to perform the Otaheitan 
dance, which they consented to with a reluctance 
that showed it was done only to oblige them. It was 
little more than a shuffling of the feet, sliding past 
each other, and snapping their fingers. They did 
not long continue this diversion, considering it as 
too great a levity, and only the three before-men- 
tioned ladies could be prevailed on to exhibit their 
skill. They appeared to have little taste for music, 
either instrumental or vocal. Adams, when on board 
the Blossom for two or three days, made no difficulty 
of joining in the dance, and was remarkably cheer- 
ful, but on no occasion neglected his usual devotions* 
Captain Beechey has no doubt of the sincerity of 
his piety. He slept in the same cabin, but would 
never get into his cot until the captain was in bed and 
supposed to be asleep, when, in a retired corner of 
the cabin, he fell on his knees and performed his de- 
votions ; and he was always up first in the morning 
for the same purpose. 

This good old man told Beechey one day that it 
would add much to his happiness if he would read 
the marriage ceremony to him and his wife, as he 
could not bear the idea of living with her without 
its being done when a proper opportunity should 
offer, as was now the case. Though Adams was 
aged, and the old woman had been blind and bedrid- 
den for several years, Beechey says he made such a 
point of it, that it would have been cruel to refuse 
him. They were accordingly, the following day, 
duly united, and the event noted in a register by 
John Buffet. The marriages that take place among 
the young people are, however, performed by 
Adams, who makes use of a ring for such occasions, 
which has united every couple on the island since its 
first settlement ; the regulated age under which no 
man is allowed to marry is twenty, and that of the 
women eighteen. The restrictions with regard to 
relationship are the same as with us, and are strictly 



277 

put in force when parties are about to marry. 
Adams also officiates at christenings. 

Captain Beechey observes that these amiable 
people rigidly adhere to their word and promise, 
even in cases where the most scrupulous among 
Europeans might think themselves justified in some 
relaxation of them. Thus, George Adams, in his 
early days, had fallen in love with Polly Young, a 
girl somewhat older than himself; but Polly, for 
some reason or other, had incautiously declared she 
never would give her hand to George Adams ; who, 
however, still hoped she would one day relent, and 
of course was unremitting in his endeavours to 
please her ; nor was he mistaken ; his constancy and 
his handsome form, which George took every oppor- 
tunity of displaying before her, softened Polly's 
heart, and she would willingly have given him her 
hand. But the vow of her youth was not to be got 
over, and the love-sick couple languished on from 
day to day, victims to the folly of early resolutions. 
This weighty case was referred to the British offi- 
cers, who decided that it would be much better to 
marry than to continue unhappy in consequence of a 
hasty resolution made before the judgment was ma- 
tured, but Polly's scruples still remained, and those 
who gave their decision left them unmarried. Cap- 
tain Beechey, however, has recently received a let- 
ter, stating that George Adams and Polly Young 
had joined hands and were happy; but the same let- 
ter announced the death of John Adams, which took 
place in March, 1829. 

The demise of this old patriarch is the most 
serious loss that could have befallen this infant col- 
ony. The perfect harmony and contentment in 
which they appear to live together, the innocence 
and simplicity of their manners, their conjugal and 
parental affection, their moral, religious, and virtuous 
conduct, and their exemption from any serious vice, 
are all to be ascribed to the exemplary conduct and 
Aa 



278 PITCAIRN 9 S ISLAND. 

instructions of old John Adams ; and it is gratifying 
to know, that five years after the visit of the Blos- 
som, and one year subsequent to Adams's death, the 
little colony continued to enjoy the same uninter- 
rupted state of harmony and contentment as before. 

In consequence of a representation made by Cap- 
tain Beechey when there of the distressed state of 
this little society with regard to the want of certain 
necessary articles, his majesty's government sent 
out to Valparaiso, to be conveyed from thence for 
their use, a proportion for sixty persons, of the fol- 
lowing articles: sailors' blue jackets and trousers, 
flannel waistcoats, pairs of stockings and shoes, 
women's dresses, spades, mattocks, shovels, pick- 
axes, trowels, rakes ; all of which were taken in his 
majesty's ship Seringapatam, commanded by Cap- 
tain the Honourable William Waldegrave, who ar- 
rived there in March, 1830. 

The ship had scarcely anchored when George 
Young was alongside in his canoe, which he guided 
by a paddle ; and soon after Thursday October Chris- 
tian, in a jolly-boat, with several others, who, having 
come on board, were invited to breakfast, and one 
of them said grace as usual both before and after it. 
The captain, the chaplain, and some other officers 
accompanied these natives on shore, and having 
reached the summit of the first level or plain, which 
is surrounded by a grove or screen of cocoanut- 
trees, they found the wives and mothers assembled 
to receive them. " I have brought you a clergy- 
man," says the captain. — " God bless you," issued 
from every mouth ; " but is he come to stay with us ?" 
— " No." — " You bad man, why not ?" — " I cannot 
spare him, he is the chaplain of my ship ; but I have 
brought you clothes and other articles, which King 
George has sent you." — " But," says Kitty Quintal, 
" we want food for our souls." 

" Our reception," says Captain Waldegrave, " was 
most cordial, particularly that of Mr. Watson, the 



MTCAIRN'S ISLAND. 279 

chaplain; and the meeting- of the wives and hus- 
bands most affecting, exchanging expressions of 
joy that could not have been exceeded had they just 
returned from a long absence. The men sprang up 
to the trees, throwing down cocoanuts, the husks 
of which were torn off by others with their teeth, 
and offering us the milk. As soon as we had rested 
ourselves, they took us to their cottages, where we 
dined and slept." 

Captain Waldegrave says it was highly gratify- 
ing to observe their native simplicity of manners, 
apparently without guile ; their hospitality was un^ 
bounded, their cottages being open to all, and all 
were welcome to such food as they possessed ; pigs 
and fowls were immediately killed and dressed, and 
when the guests were seated, one of the islanders, 
in the attitude of prayer, and his eyes raised towards 
heaven, repeated a simple grace for the present food 
they were about to partake of, beseeching, at the 
same time, spiritual nourishment ; at the end of which 
each responded Amen. On the arrival of any one 
during the repast, they all paused until the new 
guest had said grace. 

At night they all assembled in one of the cottages 
to hear the afternoon church service performed by 
Mr. Watson, and Captain Waldegrave describes it 
as a most striking scene. The place chosen was 
the bedroom of one of the double cottages, or one 
with an upper story. The ascent was by a broad 
ladder from the lower room through a trap-door. 
The clergyman took his station between two beds, 
with a lamp burning close behind him. In the bed on 
his right were three infants sound asleep ; at the foot 
of that on his left were three men sitting. On each 
side and in front were the men, some wearing only 
the simple mara, displaying their gigantic figures ; 
others in jackets and trousers, their necks and feet 
bare ; behind stood the women, in their modest 
home-made cloth dresses, which entirely covered 



280 pitcairn's island. 

the form, leaving only the head and feet bare. The 
girls wore, in addition, a sheet knotted in the man- 
ner of a Roman senator's toga, thrown over the right 
shoulder and under the left arm. When the general 
confession commenced, they all knelt down facing 
the clergyman, with their hands raised to the breast 
in the attitude of prayer, slowly and distinctly re- 
peating the confession after the clergyman. They 
prayed for the King of England, whom they consider 
as their sovereign. A sermon followed, from a text 
which Captain Waldegrave thinks was most happily 
chosen : " Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." At the 
conclusion of the service they requested permission 
to sing their parting hymn, when the whole congre- 
gation, in good time, sang " Depart in peace." 

Captain Waldegrave, like all former visiters, bears 
testimony to the kind disposition and active benevo- 
lence of these simple islanders. The children, he 
says, are fond and obedient, the parents affectionate 
and kind towards their children. None of the party 
ever heard a harsh word made use of by one towards 
another. They never slander or speak ill of one 
another. If any question was asked as to the 
character or conduct of a particular individual, the 
answer would probably be something of this kind, 
" If it could do any good, I would answer you ; but 
as it cannot, it would be wrong to tell tales ;" or if 
the question applied to one who had committed a 
fault they would say, " It would be wrong to tell my 
neighbour's shame." The kind and benevolent feel- 
ing of these amiable people is extended to the sur- 
viving widows of the Otaheite men who were slain 
on the island, and who would be left in a helpless 
and destitute state, were it not for the humane 
consideration of the younger part of the society, by 
whom they are supported and regarded with every 
mark of attention. 

The women are clothed in white cloth made from 



pitcairn's island. 281 

the paper mulberry, the dress extending from the 
shoulders to the feet, in double folds, and so loose 
as entirely to conceal the shape of the person. The 
mothers, while nursing, carry the infant within their 
dress ; as the child advances in growth it sits across 
the hip of the parent with its little hands clinging to 
the shoulder, while the mother's arm passing round 
it keeps it in safety. The men and boys, except on 
Sunday, when they appear in English dresses, gene- 
rally wear only the mara, or waist-cloth, which, pass- 
ing over the hips and between the legs, is knotted be- 
hind ; the climate is in fact too hot for cumbersome 
clothing. The women, when working, use only a 
petticoat, with a jacket. 

The men are stated to be from five feet eight 
inches to six feet high, of great muscular strength 
and excellent figures. " We did not see," says Cap- 
tain Waldegrave, " one cripple or defective person, 
except one boy, whom, in the most good-humoured 
way, and laughing heartily, they brought to me, 
observing, ' You ought to be brothers, you have 
each lost the right eye.' I acknowledged the con- 
nexion, and no doubt for the future he will be called 
the Captain." 

Captain Beechey has given a more detailed ac- 
count of the physical qualities of the Pitcairn 
islanders. He says they are tall, robust, and healthy ; 
their average height five feet ten inches ; the tallest 
man measured six feet and one quarter of an inch, 
and the shortest of the adults five feet nine inches 
and one-eighth ; their limbs well proportioned, round, 
and straight; their feet turning a little inwards. 
A boy of eight years measured four feet and one 
inch ; another of nine years four feet three inches. 
Their simple food and early habits of exercise give 
them a muscular power and activity not often sur- 
passed. It is recorded on the island that George 
Young and Edward Quintal have each carried at 
pne time a kedge anchor, two sledge hammers. an4 
Aa2 



282 pitcairn's island. 

an armourer's anvil, weighing together upwards of 
six hundred pounds ; and that Quintal once carried 
a boat twenty-eight feet in length. In the water 
they are almost as much at home as on land, and 
can remain almost a whole day in the sea. They 
frequently swim round their little island, the circuit 
of which is at the least seven miles ; and the women 
are nearly as expert swimmers as the men. 

The female descendants of the Otaheite women 
are almost as muscular as the males, and taller than 
the generality of the sex. Polly Young, who is not 
the tallest on the island, measured five feet nine 
inches and a half. The features of both men and 
women are regular and well formed; eyes bright 
and generally hazel, though in a few instances blue ; 
the eyebrows thin and rarely meeting ; the nose a 
little flattened, and being rather extended at the 
nostrils, partakes of the Otaheitan character, as do 
the lips, which are broad and strongly sulcated; 
their ears moderately large, and the lobes are in- 
variably united with the cheek ; they are generally 
perforated when young, for the reception of flowers, 
a very common custom among the natives of the 
South Sea islands ; hair black, sometimes curling, 
sometimes straight ; teeth regular and white. On 
the whole they are a t well-looking people. 

Captain Beechey says, the women have all learned 
the art of midwifery ; that parturition generally 
takes place during the night-time ; that the duration 
of labour is seldom longer than five hours, and has 
not yet in any case proved fatal ; but there is no in- 
stance of twins, nor of a single miscarriage, except 
from accident. Infants are generally bathed three 
times a day in cold water, and are sometimes not 
weaned for three or four years ; but when that does 
take place, they are fed upon " popoe," made of ripe 
plantains and boiled taro-root rubbed into a paste. 
Mr. Collie, the surgeon of the Blossom, remarks 
that nothing is more extraordinary in the history 



pitcairn's island. 283 

of the island than the uniform good health of the 
children ; the teething is easily got over, they have 
no bowel complaints, and are exempt from those con- 
tagious diseases which affect children in large com- 
munities. He offered to vaccinate the children as 
well as all the grown persons ; but they deemed the 
risk of infection of small-pox to be too small to 
render that operation necessary. 

As a proof how very much simple diet and con- 
stant exercise tend to the healthful state of the body, 
the skin of these people, though in such robust 
health, compared with that of the Europeans, always 
felt cold, and their pulses always considerably lower. 
The doctor examined several of them ; in the fore- 
noon he found George Young's only sixty; three 
others, in the afternoon, after dinner, were sixty- 
eight, seventy-two, and seventy-six, while those of 
the officers who stood the heat of the climate best 
were above eighty. 

It is impossible not to feel a deep interest in the 
welfare of this little society, and at the same time 
an apprehension that something may happen to dis- 
turb that harmony and destroy that simplicity of 
manners which have hitherto characterized it. It 
is to be feared, indeed, that the seeds of discord are 
already sown. It appears from Captain Walde- 
grave's statement, that no less than three English- 
men have found their way into this happy society. 
One of them, John Buffet, mentioned by Beechey, 
is a harmless man, and, as it has been stated, of 
great use to the islanders in his capacity of clergy- 
man and schoolmaster ; he is also a clever and use- 
ful mechanic, as a shipwright and joiner, and is 
much beloved by the community. Two others have 
since been left on the island, one of them, by name 
John Evans, son of a coachmaker in the employ 
of Long of St. Martin's Lane, who has married a 
daughter of John Adams, through whom he possesses 
and cultivates a certain portion of land ; the third is 



284 pitcairn's island. 

George Hunn Nobbs, who calls himself registrar, 
schoolmaster, &c, thus infringing on the privi^ 
leges of John Buffet ; and being a person of supe- 
rior talents, and of exceeding great impudence, 
has deprived Buffet of a great number of his schol- 
ars ; and hence a sufficient cause exists of division 
and dissension among the members of the little so- 
ciety, which were never known before. Buffet and 
Evans support themselves by their industry, but this 
Nobbs not only claims exemption from labour in 
virtue of his office, but also as being entitled to a 
maintenance at the expense of the community. He 
has married a daughter of Charles, and granddaughter 
to the late Fletcher Christian, whose descendants, 
as captain of the gang, might be induced to claim 
superiority, and which, probably, might be allowed 
by general consent, had they but possessed a mode- 
rate share of talent ; but it is stated that Thursday 
October and Charles Christian, the sons of the chief 
mutineer, are ignorant, uneducated men. The only 
chance for the continuance of peace is the general 
dislike in which this Nobbs is held, and the gradual 
intellectual improvement of the rising generation. 

It seems that Adams on his death-bed called all 
the heads of families together, and urged them to 
appoint a chief ; — this, however, they have not done, 
which makes it the more to be appiehended that 
Nobbs, by his superior talent or cunning, will force 
himself upon them into that situation. Captain 
Waldegrave thinks, however, that Edward Quintal, 
who possesses the best understanding of any on the 
island, will in time arrive at that honour ; his only 
book is the Bible, but it is quite astonishing, he ob- 
serves, what a fund of knowledge he has derived 
from it. His wife, too, is stated to be a woman of 
excellent understanding ; and their eldest boy, Wil- 
liam, has been so carefully educated, that he excels 
greatly all the others. The descendants of Young' 



pitcairn's island. 285 

are also said to be persons generally of promising 
abilities. 

How the patriarch Adams contrived to instil into 
the minds of these people the true principles of re- 
ligion and morality is quite surprising. He was able 
to read, but only learned to write in his latter days ; 
and having accomplished this point, he made a 
scheme of Jaws by which he succeeded to govern 
■his little community in the way we have seen. The 
celebration of marriage and baptism were strictly 
observed according to the rites of the Church of 
England, but he never ventured on confirmation and 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. He taught the 
children the church catechism, the ten command- 
ments, the Lord's Prayer, and the creed, and he 
satisfied himself that in these were comprised all the 
Christian duties. By the instrumentality of these 
precepts, drawn from the Book of Common Prayer 
and the Bible,* he was enabled, after the slaughter 
of all his associates, to rear up all the children in 
the principles and precepts of Christianity, in purity 
of morals, and in a simplicity of manners that have 
surprised and delighted every stranger that has 
visited the island. 

The whole island, it seems, was partitioned out 
by Adams among the families of the original set- 
tlers, so that a foreigner cannot obtain any, except by 

* Well may Adams have sought for rules for his little society in a 
book which contains the foundation of the civil and religious policy of 
two-thirds of the human race, — in that wonderful book, into whose 
inspired pages the afflicted never seek for consolation in vain. Millions 
of examples attest this truth. "There is no incident in Robinson 
Crusoe," observes a writer in a critical journal, " told in language more 
natural and affecting than Robert Knox's accidental discovery of a 
Bible in the midst of the Candian dominions of Ceylon. His previous 
despondency from the death of his father, his only friend and companion, 
whose grave he had but just dug with his own hands, ' being now,' as 
he says, ' left desolate, sick, and in captivity,'— his agitation, joy, and 
even terror on meeting with a book he had for such a length of time not 
seen, nor hoped to see — his anxiety lest he should fail to procure it — and 
the comfort, when procured, which it afforded him in his affliction— all 
are told in such a strain of true piety and genuine simplicity as cannot 
fail to interest and affect everv reader of sensibility." 



286 pitcairn's island: 

purchase or marriage. Captain Waldegrave reckons, 
that eleven-twelfths are uncultivated, and that popu- 
lation is increasing- so rapidly, that in the course of 
a century the island will be fully peopled, and that 
the limit may be taken at one thousand souls. 

The rate at which population is likely to increase 
may, perhaps, be determined by political economists 
from the following data. 

In 1790 the island was first settled by fifteen men 
and twelve women, making a total of twenty-seven. 
Of these were remaining in 1800 one man and five 
women with nineteen children, the eldest nine years 
of age, making in the whole twenty-five. In 1808 
Mr. Folger makes the population amount to thirty- 
five, being an increase of ten in eight years. In 
1814, six years afterward, Sir Thomas Staines states 
the adult population at forty, which must be a mis- 
take, as fourteen years before, nineteen of the 
twenty-five then existing were children. In 1825 
Captain Beechey states the whole population at 
sixty-six ; of whom thirty-six were males and thirty 
females. And in 1830 Captain Waldegrave makes 
it amount to seventy-nine ; being an increase of 
thirteen in five years, or twenty per cent., which is 
a less rapid increase than might be expected ; but 
there can be little doubt it will go on with an ac- 
celerated ratio, provided the means of subsistence 
should not fail them. 

Captain Waldegrave's assumption that this island 
is sufficiently large for the maintenance of one thou- 
sand souls is grounded on incorrect data ; it does 
not follow, that because one-twelfth of the island 
will maintain eighty persons, the whole must sup- 
port nine hundred and sixty persons. The island is 
not more than four square miles, or two thousand 
five hundred and sixty acres ; and as a ridge of rocky 
hills runs from north to south, having two peaks ex- 
ceeding one thousand feet in height, it is more than 



PITCAIRN*S ISLAND. v287 

probable that not one-half of it is capable Of cultiva- 
tion. It would seem, indeed, from several ancient 
morais being discovered among these hills ; some 
stone axes or hatchets of compact basaltic lava, 
very haru" and capable of a fine polish ; four stone 
images about six feet high placed on a platform not 
unlike those on Easter Island, one of which has 
been preserved, and is the rude representation of 
the human figure to the hips, hewn out of a piece of 
red lava : — these remains would seem to indicate a 
former population, that had found it expedient to 
abandon the island from its insufficiency to support 
it. Captain Beechey observes, that " from these 
images, and the large piles of stones on heights to 
which they must have been dragged with great 
labour, it may be concluded that the island was in- 
habited for a considerable time ; and from bones be- 
ing found, always buried under these piles, and never 
upon the surface, we may presume that those who 
survived quitted the island in their canoes to seek an 
asylum elsewhere/' 

It appears from Beechey* that Adams had contem- 
plated the prospect of an increasing population with 
the limited means of supporting it, and requested 
that he would communicate with the British govern- 
ment upon the subject, which he says he did ; and 
that through the interference of the Admiralty and 
Colonial Office means have been taken for removing 
them to any place they may choose for themselves.- 
It is to be hoped, however, that no such interference 
will take place ; for half a century, at least, there 
is no danger of any want of food. The attempt, 
however, was made through the means of a gen- 
tleman of Otaheite, who, being on a visit to this 
country, was authorized on his return to make ar- 
rangements for their removal to Otaheite, if they 
wished it, and if Pomarre, the king of the island, 
should not object to receive them < and he carried a 
letter to this chief from Lord Bathurst, acquainting 



288 pitcairn's island. 

him with the intention of the British government, 
and expressing the hope that he would be induced 
to receive under his protection a people whose 
moral and religious character had created so lively 
an interest in their favour ; but it happened that 
this person passed the island without stopping. A 
Mr. Joshua Hill subsequently proposed their removal 
to New South Wales, but his vessel was considered 
too small for the purpose. 

Two years after this, as difficulties had occurred 
to prevent the above-mentioned intentions from being 
carried into effect, Sir George Murray deemed it 
desirable that no time should be lost in affording 
such assistance to these islanders as might, at all 
events, render their present abode as comfortable as 
circumstances would allow, until arrangements could 
be made for their future disposal either in one of the 
Society Islands, as originally proposed, or at one of 
our settlements on New-Holland. The assistance 
here alluded to has been afforded, as above men- 
tioned, by his majesty's ship Seringapatam. 

It is sincerely to be hoped that such removal will 
be no longer thought of. No complaint was made, 
no apprehension of want expressed to Captain Wal- 
degrave, who left them contented and happy ; and 
Captain Beechey, since his return, has received a let- 
ter from John Buffet, who informs him of a notifica- 
tion that the king was willing to receive them, and that 
measures would be taken for their removal ; but, he 
adds, the people are so much attached to, and satis- 
fied with, their native island, as not to have a wish to 
leave it. The breaking up of this happy, innocent, 
and simple-minded little society by some summary 
process, would be a subject of deep regret to all 
who take an interest in their welfare ; and to them- 
selves might be the inevitable loss of all those 
amiable qualities which have obtained for them the 
kind and generous sympathy of their countrymen at 
home. We have a person who acts as consul at 



PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. 289 

Otaheite, and it is to be hoped he will receive in 
structions on no account to sanction, but on the 
contrary to interdict, any measure that may be at- 
tempted for their removal. 

The time must come when they will emigrate on 
their own accord. When the hive is full, they will 
send out their swarms. Captain Beechey tells us, 
that the reading of some books of voyages and 
travels, belonging to Bligh and left in the Bounty, 
had created a desire in some of them to leave it ; 
but that family ties and an ardent affection for each 
other and for their native soil had always interposed 
on the few occasions that offered to prevent indi- 
viduals going away singly. George Adams, however, 
who had failed when the Blossom was there to soften 
the heart of Polly Young, and had no wife to detain 
him, was very anxious to embark in that ship, that he 
might see something of the world beyond the narrow 
limits of his own little island ; and Beechey would 
have taken him, had not his mother wept bitterly at 
the idea of parting from him, and Avished to impose 
terms touching his return to the island that could 
not be acceded to. 

Pitcairn's Island lies at the south-eastern extremity 
of a chain of islands, which, including the Society 
and Friendly Islands, exceed a hundred in number, 
many of them wholly uninhabited, and the rest but 
thinly peopled, all speaking the same, or nearly the 
same, language, which is also spoken by the natives 
of Pitcairn's Island ; and all of the two groups are 
richly clothed with the spontaneous products of na- 
ture fit for the use of man. To all these they will 
have, when necessity prompts them, easy means of 
access. No large vessels are required for an emi- 
gration of this kind ; the frailest barks and single 
canoes have been driven hundreds of miles over the 
Pacific. The Pitcairners have already proceeded 
from the simple canoe to row-boats, and the progress 
from this to small decked vessels is simple and 
Bb 



290 pitcairn's island. 

natural. They may thus at some future period, 
which is not at all improbable, be the means of 
spreading Christianity, and consequently civilization, 
throughout the numerous groups of islands in the 
Southern Pacific ; whereas to remove them as has 
been suggested might be to devote them at once to 
misery and destruction. 

That there is no deficiency in the number and 
variety of plants producing food and clothing for 
the use of man will appear from the following list, 
which is far from being complete : — 

INDIGENOUS. 

Cocos nucifera . Cocoanut. 

Musa Paradisiaca Plantains. 

Musa sapientum Bananas. 

Dioscorea sativum. Yams. 

Convolvulus batatas Sweet potatoes. 

Arum esculentum Taro root. 

Arum costatum Yappa. 

Broussonetia papyri/era Cloth-tree. 

Dracazna terminalis Tee-plant. 

Aleurites triloba Doodoe. 

Morinda citrifolia Nono. 

Toonena, a large timber tree 

Ficus indica Banyan-tree. 

Morus Chinencis Mulberry. 

Vandanus odoratissimus ? 

And a great number of other indigenous plants, 
some of which are useful and others ornamental. 

INTRODUCED. 

Artocarpus incisa Bread-fruit. 

Cucurbita citrullus Watermelons. 

Cucurbila pepo Pumpkins. 

Solanum esculentum . Potatoes. 

Nicotiana tabaccum . . * Tobacco. 

Citrus lemoneum ... Lemon. 

aurantium Orange. 

Besides these they have European pease, beans, 
and onions; sugar-canes, ginger, pepper, and tur- 
meric. In fact, situated as the island is, in a tem- 
perate climate just without the tropic, and enjoying 
abundance of rain, there is scarcely any vegetable, 



pitcairn's island. 291 

with the exception of a few of the equinoctial plants, 
that may not be cultivated here. The zea mays, or 
Indian corn, would be infinitely useful both for them- 
selves, their poultry, and their pigs. 

As a great part of the island is at present covered 
with trees, which would necessarily give way to an 
extended cultivation, and as trees attract rain, Cap- 
tain Waldegrave seems to think that when these are 
removed showers will be less frequent ; but there is 
little fear of this being the case ; the central ridge, 
with points that exceed eleven hundred feet in 
height, will more effectually attract and condense 
the clouds than any quantity of trees growing at a 
less elevation; and there can be little doubt that 
plenty of water will be found by digging at the foot 
of the hills or close to the seacoast. 

The climate appears to be unexceptionable. Dur- 
ing the sixteen days of December (the height of 
summer) that the Blossom remained there, the 
range of the thermometer on the island, from nine 
in the morning till three in the afternoon, was from 
76° to 80°; on board ship from 74° to 76°; from 
whence Captain Beechey places the mean tempera- 
ture during that time at 76^°. In winter he says the 
south-westerly winds blow very cold, and even snow 
has been known to fall. 

Not one visiter to this happy island has taken 
leave of its amiable inhabitants without a feeling of 
regret. Captain Beechey says, "When we were 
about to take leave, our friends assembled to express 
their regret at our departure. All brought some 
little present for our acceptance, which they wished 
us to keep in remembrance of them ; after which 
they accompanied us to the beach, where we took 
our leave of the female part of the inhabitants. 
Adams and the young men pushed off in their own 
boat to the ship, determined to accompany us to 
sea as far as they could with safety. They con- 
tinued on board, unwilling to leave us, until we were 



292 

a considerable distance from land, when they shook 
each of us feelingly by the hand, and, amid expres- 
sions of the deepest concern at our departure, 
wished us a prosperous voyage, and hoped that we 
might one day meet again. As soon as they were 
clear of the ship, they all stood up in their boat, and 
gave us three hearty cheers, which were as heartily 
returned. As the weather became foggy, the barge 
towed them towards the shore, and we took a final 
leave of them, unconscious, until the moment of 
separation, of the warm interest their situation and 
good conduct had created in us " 



( 293 ) 



CONCLUSION. 

Many useful and salutary lessons of conduct may 
be drawn from this eventful history, more especially 
by officers of the navy, both old and young, as well 
as by those subordinate to them. In the first place, 
it most strongly points out the dreadful conse- 
quences that are almost certain to ensue from a 
state of insubordination and mutiny on board a ship 
of war; and the equally certain fate that, at one 
time or other, awaits all those who have the misfor- 
tune to be concerned in a transaction of this revolt- 
ing nature. In the present instance, the dreadful 
retribution which overtook them, and which was 
evinced in a most extraordinary manner, affords an 
awful and instructive lesson to seamen, by which 
they may learn, that although the guilty may be 
secured for a time in evading the punishment due to 
the offended laws of society, yet they must not 
hope to escape the pursuit of Divine vengeance. It 
will be recollee-ted that the number of persons who 
remained in the Bounty after her piratical seizure, 
and of course charged with the crime of mutiny, 
was twenty-five ; that these subsequently separated 
into two parties, sixteen having landed at Otaheite, 
and afterward taken from thence in the Pandora, as 
prisoners, and nine having gone with the Bounty to 
Pitcairn's Island. 

Of the sixteen taken in the Pandora, — 

1. Mr. Peter Heywood, midshipman, was sentenced to death, but par- 
doned. 

2. James Morrison, boatswain's mate, do. do. 

3. William Muspratt, commander's steward, do. do. 

4. Thos. Burkitt, seaman, ) 

5. John Millward, do. V condemned and executed. 

6. Thos. Ellison, do S 

Bb2 



294 CONCLUSION. 

7. Joseph Coleman, armourer, \ 

2 ££ arle ^ orman ' car P ente . r ' s mate > C tried and acquitted. 
9. Thos. M'Intosh, carpenter's crew, C 4 «"">"• 

10. Michael Byrne, seaman, * 

11. Mr. George Stewart, midshipman, \ 

12. John Sumner, seaman, f drowned in irons when the 

13. Richard Skinner, seaman, C Pandora was wrecked. 

14. Henry Hillbrant, cooper, * 

15. Chas. Churchill, master-at-arms, murdered by Matthew Thompson. 

16. Matthew Thompson, seaman, murdered by Churchill's friends in 

Otaheite. 

Of the nine who landed on Pitcairn's Island, — 

1. Mr. Fletcher Christian, acting-lieutenant, \ 

1: &bsp *sr { w sst red hy th8 

4. John Mills, gunner's mate, ( utdneudUS - 

5. William Brown, botanist's assistant, J 

6. Matthew Quintal, seaman, put to death hy Young and Adams in self- 

defence. 

7. William M'Koy, seaman, became insane, and killed by throwing 

himself from a rock. 

8. Mr. Edward Young, midshipman, died of asthma. 

9. Alex. Smith, alias John Adams, seaman, died in 1829. 

Young officers of the navy, as well as the common 
seamen, may also derive some useful lessons from 
the events of this history. They will see the mel- 
ancholy results of affording the least encouragement 
for seamen to depart from their strict line of duty, 
and to relax in that obedience to the orders of supe- 
riors by which alone the discipline of the service 
can be preserved ; they will learn how dangerous it 
is to show themselves careless and indifferent in exe- 
cuting those orders, by thus setting a bad example 
to the men. It ought also to enforce on their minds 
how necessary it is to avoid even the appearance of 
acting in any way that can be considered as repug- 
nant to, or subversive of, the rules and regulations of 
the service ; and most particularly to guard against 
any conduct that may have the appearance of low- 
ering the authority of their superiors, either by their 
words or actions. 

No doubt can remain on the minds of unpreju- 
diced persons, or such as are capable of weighing 
evidence, that the two young midshipmen Stewart 



CONCLUSION. 295 

and Hey wood were perfectly innocent of any share 
in the transaction in question ; and yet, because they 
happened to be left in the ship, not only contrary to 
their wish and intention, but kept down below by 
force, the one lost his life by being drowned in 
chains, and the other was condemned to die, and 
only escaped from suffering the last penalty of the 
law by a recommendation to the royal mercy. The 
only point in which these two officers failed was, 
that they did not at once demand permission to ac- 
company their commander, while they were allowed 
to remain on deck and had the opportunity of doing 
so. The manly conduct of young Heywood, through- 
out his long and unmerited sufferings, affords an ex- 
ample of firmness, fortitude, and resignation to the 
Divine will that is above all praise ; in fact, nothing 
short of conscious innocence could have supported 
him in the severe trials he had to undergo. 

The melancholy effects which tyrannical conduct, 
harsh and opprobrious language, ungovernable pas- 
sion, and a worrying and harassing temper on the 
part of naval commanders seldom fail to produce on 
the minds of those who are subject to their capri- 
cious and arbitrary command, are strongly exem- 
plified in the cause and consequences of the mutiny 
in the Bounty, as described in the course of this 
history. Conduct of this kind, by making the infe- 
rior officers of a ship discontented and unhappy, has 
the dangerous tendency, as in the case of Christian, 
to incite the crew to partake in their discontent, and 
be ready to assist in any plan to get rid of the tyrant. 
We may see in it, also, how very little credit a com- 
mander is likely to gain, either with the service or 
the public at large, when the duties of a ship are 
carried on, as they would appear to have been in the 
Pandora, in a cold, phlegmatic, and unfeeling manner, 
and with an indifference to the comfort of all around 
him ; — subjecting offenders of whatever description 
to unnecessary restraint, and a severity of punish- 
ment which, though strictly within the letter of the 



296 CONCLUSION. 

law, contributes in no way to the ends of discipline 
or of justice. 

The conduct of Bligh, however mistaken he may 
have been in his mode of carrying on the duties of 
the ship, was most exemplary throughout the long 
and perilous voyage he performed in an open boat, 
on the wide ocean, with the most scanty supply of 
provisions and water, and in the worst weather. 
The result of such meritorious conduct holds out 
every encouragement to both officers and men, by 
showing them that by firmness and perseverance, 
and the adoption of well-digested measures, steadily 
pursued in spite of opposition, the most hopeless 
undertaking, to all appearance, may be successfully 
accomplished. 

And, lastly, the fate that has attended almost 
every one of those concerned in the mutiny and 
piracy of his majesty's ship Bounty ought to operate 
as a warning to, and make a deep impression on the 
minds of our brave seamen, not to suffer them- 
selves to be led astray from the straight-forward 
line of their duty, either by order or persuasion of 
some hot-brained, thoughtless, or designing person, 
whether their superior or equal, but to remain 
faithful, under all circumstances, to their com- 
manding officer; as any mutinous proceedings or 
disobedience of his orders are sure to be visited upon 
them in the long run, either by loss of life, or by a 
forfeiture of that liberal provision which the British 
government has bestowed on its seamen for long 
and faithful services. 



P.S. Just as this last sheet came from the press, 
the editor has noticed a paragraph in the news- 
papers, said to be extracted from an American paper, 
stating that a vessel sent to Pitcairn's Island by the 
Europeans of Otaheite has carried off the whole of 
the settlers to the latter island. 



( 297 ) 



ADDITIONAL NOTE. 

In reference to the subject of extraordinary pas- 
sages made in open boats on the wide ocean, and the 
note thereon at page 113, the following may be 
added as another instance, the most painfully inter- 
esting, and the most calamitous, perhaps, ever re- 
corded. It was related to Mr. Bennet, a gentleman 
deputed by the Missionary Society of London, to- 
gether with the Rev. Daniel Tyerman, to visit their 
several stations in the South Sea islands, by Captain 
George Pollard, the unfortunate sufferer, whom 
these gentlemen met with at Raiatea, then a pas- 
senger in an American vessel, having a second time 
lost his ship near the Sandwich Islands. The nar- 
rative is extracted from " The Journal of Voyages 
and Travels," just published, of the two gentlemen 
above-mentioned, and is as follows : — 

" My first shipwreck was in open sea, on the 20th 
of November, 1820, near the equator, about 118° W. 
long. The vessel, a South Sea whaler, was called 
the Essex. On that day, as we were on the look 
out for sperm whales, and had actually struck two, 
which the boats' crews were following to secure, I 
perceived a very large one — it might be eighty or 4 
ninety feet long— rushing with great swiftness 
through the water, right towards the ship. We 
hoped that she would turn aside, and dive under, 
when she perceived such a balk in her way. But 
no ! the animal came full force against our stern- 
post; had any quarter less firm been struck, the 
vessel must have been burst ; as it was, every plank 
and timber trembled throughout her whole bulk. 

" The whale, as though hurt by a severe and unex- 
pected - concussion, shook its enormous head, and 
sheered off to so considerable a distance that for 



298 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 

some time we had lost sight of her from the star- 
board quarter : of which we were very glad, hoping 
that the worst was over. Nearly an hour afterward, 
we saw the same fish — we had no doubt of this, 
from her size and the direction in which she came — 
making again towards us. We were at once aware 
of our danger, but escape was impossible. She 
dashed her head this time against the ship's side, 
and so broke it in that the vessel filled rapidly, and 
soon became waterlogged. At the second shock, ex- 
pecting her to go down, we lowered our three boats 
with the utmost expedition, and all hands, twenty 
in the whole, got into them — seven, and seven, 
and six. In a little while, as she did not sink, we 
ventured on board again, and, by scuttling the deck, 
were enabled to get out some buscuit, beef, water, 
rum, two sextants, a quadrant, and three compasses. 
These, together with some rigging, a few muskets, 
powder, &c. we brought away; and, dividing the 
stores among our three small crews, rigged the boats 
as well as we could; there being a compass for 
each, and a sextant for two, and a quadrant for one, 
but neither sextant nor quadrant for the third.* 
Then, instead of pushing away for some port, so 
amazed and bewildered were we that we continued 
sitting in ourplaces gazing upon the ship, as though 
she had been an object of the tenderest affection. 
Our eyes could not leave her, till, at the end of 
many hours, she gave a slight reel, then down she 
sank. No words can tell our feelings. We looked 
at each other — we looked at the place where she 
had so lately been afloat — and we did not cease to 
look till the terrible conviction of our abandoned 
and perilous situation roused us to exertion, if de- 
liverance were yet possible. 

" We now consulted about the course which it might 
be best to take — westward to India, eastward to South 
America, or south-westward to the Society Isles. 

* If there were three instruments and three boats, there must hava 
been one for each, for the quadrant was just as good as a sextant.— Ed. 



ADDITIONAL NOTE. 299 

We knew that we were at no great distance from 
Tahiti, but were so ignorant of the state and temper 
of the inhabitants, that we feared we should be de- 
voured by cannibals, if we cast ourselves on their 
mercy. It was determined, therefore, to make for 
South America, which we computed to be more than 
two thousand miles distant. Accordingly we steered 
eastward, and though for several days harassed with 
squalls, we contrived to keep together. It was not 
long before we found that one of the boats had 
started a plank, which was no wonder, for whale- 
boats are all clinker-built, and very slight, being- 
made of half-inch plank only, before planing. To 
remedy this alarming defect we all turned to, and 
having emptied the damaged boat into the two others, 
we raised her side as well as we could, and suc- 
ceeded in restoring the plank at the bottom. 
Through this accident, some of our biscuit had be- 
come injured by the salt-water. This was equally 
divided among the several boats' crews. Food and 
water, meanwhile, with our utmost economy, rapidly 
failed. Our strength was exhausted, not by absti- 
nence only, but by the labours which we were 
obliged to employ to keep our little vessels afloat 
amid the storms which repeatedly assailed us. 
One night we were parted in rough weather; but 
though the next day we fell in with one of our com- 
panion-boats, we never saw or heard any more of 
the other, which probably perished at sea, being 
without either sextant or quadrant.* 

" When we were reduced to the last pinch, and 
out of every thing, having been more than three 
weeks abroad, we were cheered with the sight of a 
low, uninhabited island, which we reached in hope, but 
were bitterly disappointed. There were some bar- 
ren bushes and many rocks on this forlorn spot. 
The only provisions that we could procure were a 
few birds and their eggs; this supply was soon 

* The mistake is here again repeated ; it would be absurd to suppose 
that one boat had both quadrant and sextant 



300 4 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 

reduced ; the sea-fowls appeared to have been fright- 
ened away, and their nests were left empty after we 
had once or twice plundered them. What distressed 
us most was the utter want of fresh water ; we could 
not find a drop anywhere, till, at the extreme verge 
of ebb tide, a small spring was discovered in the 
sand ; but even that was too scanty to afford us suffi- 
cient to quench our thirst before it was covered by 
the waves at their turn. 

" There being no prospect but that of starvation 
here, we determined to put to sea again. Three of 
our comrades, however, chose to remain, and we 
pledged ourselves to send a vessel to bring them off, 
if we ourselves should ever escape to a Christian 
port. With a very small morsel of biscuit for each, 
and a little water, we again ventured out on the wide 
ocean. In the course of a few days our provisions 
were consumed. Two men died ; we had no other 
alternative than to live upon their remains. These 
we roasted to dryness by means of fires kindled on 
the ballast-sand at the bottom of the boats.* When 
this supply was spent, what could we do? We 
looked at each other with horrid thoughts in our 
minds, but we held our tongues. I am sure that we 
loved one another as brothers all the time ; and yet 
our looks told plainly what must be done. We cast 
lots, and the fatal one fell on my poor cabin-boy. I 
started forward instantly, and cried out, ' My lad, my 
lad, if you don't like your lot, I'll shoot the first man 
that touches you.' The poor emaciated boy hesi- 
tated a moment or two ; then, quietly laying his head 
down upon the gunnel of the boat, he said, ' i" like it 
as well as any other.' He was soon despatched, and 
nothing of him left. I think, then, another man died 
of himself, and him too we ate. But I can tell you 
no more — my head is on fire at the recollection ; I 
hardly know what I say. I forgot to say that we 

* It is not explained with what kind of fuel they oerformed this dis- 
tressing operation. 



ADDITIONAL NOTE. 301 

had parted company with the second boat before 
now. After some more days of horror and despair, 
when some were lying down at the bottom of' the 
boat not able to rise, and scarcely one of us could 
move a limb, a vessel hove in sight. We were taken 
on board, and treated with extreme kindness. The 
second lost boat was also picked up at sea, and the 
survivors saved. A ship afterward sailed in search 
of our companions on the desolate island, and brought 
them away." 

Captain Pollard closed his dreary narrative with 
saying, in a tone of despondency never to be forgot- 
ten by him who heard it, " After a time I found my 
way to the United States, to which I belonged, and 
got another ship. That too I have lost by a second 
wreck off the Sandwich Islands, and now I am 
utterly ruined. No owner will ever trust me with a 
whaler again, for all will say I am an unlucky man." 

The following account respecting the three men 
that were left on the uninhabited island, is given in a 
note of the same work, and said to be extracted from 
a religious tract, No. 579, issued by the society in 
Paternoster-row. 

" On the 26th December the boats left the island : 
this was indeed a trying moment to all : they sepa- 
rated with mutual prayers and good wishes, seven- 
teen* venturing to sea with almost certain death be- 
fore them, while three remained on a rocky isle, des- 
titute of water, and affording hardly any thing to 
support life. The prospects of these three poor 
men were gloomy : they again tried to dig a well, 
but without success, and all hope seemed at an end, 
when providentially they were relieved by a shower 
of rain. They were thus delivered from the imme- 
diate apprehension of perishing by thirst. Their 

* Here again is another mistake ; the number must have been eleven 
at most, one of the boats having parted before the others reached the 
island.— En. p 



302 ADDITIONAL NOTE. 

next care was to procure food, and their difficulties 
herein were also very great ; their principal resource 
was small birds, about the size of a blackbird, which 
they caught while at roost. Every night they 
climbed the trees in search of them, and obtained, 
by severe exertions, a scanty supply, hardly enough 
to support life. Some of the trees bore a small berry, 
which gave them a little relief, but these they found 
only in small quantities. Shellfish they searched 
for in vain ; and although from the rocks they saw 
at times a number of sharks, and also other sorts of 
fish, they were unable to catch any, as they had no 
fishing tackle. Once they saw several turtles, and 
succeeded in taking five, but they were then without 
water : at those times they had little inclination to 
eat, and before one of them was quite finished the 
others were become unfit for food. 

" Their sufferings from want of water were the 
most severe, their only supply being from what re- 
mained in holes among the rocks after the showers 
which fell at intervals ; and sometimes they were 
five or six days without any ; on these occasions 
they were compelled to suck the blood of the birds 
they caught, which allayed their thirst in some de- 
gree ; but they did so very unwillingly, as they 
found themselves much disordered thereby. 

" Among the rocks were several caves formed by 
nature, which afforded shelter from the wind and 
rain. In one of these caves they found eight human 
skeletons, in all probability the remains of some 
poor mariners who had been shipwrecked on the 
isle, and perished for want of food and water. They 
were side by side, as if they had laid down and died 
together! This sight deeply affected the mate and 
his companions ; their case was similar, and they 
had every reason to expect, ere long, the same end : 
for many times they lay down at night, with their 
tongues swollen and their lips parched with thirst, 
scarcely hoping to see the morning sun ; and it is 



ADDITIONAL NOTE. 303 

impossible to form an idea of their feelings when 
the morning dawned, and they found their prayers 
had been heard and answered by a providential sup- 
ply of rain. 

" In this state they continued till the 5th of April 
following. On the morning of that day they were 
in the woods as usual, searching for food and water, 
as well as their weakness permitted, when their at- 
tention was aroused by a sound which they thought 
was distant thunder ; but looking towards the sea, 
they saw a ship in the offing, which had just fired a 
gun. Their joy at this sight may be more easily 
imagined than described ; they immediately fell on 
their knees, and thanked God for his goodness in 
thus sending deliverance when least expected ; then 
hastening to the shore, they saw a boat coming to- 
wards them. As the boat could not approach the 
shore without great danger, the mate, being a good 
swimmer, and stronger than his companions, plunged 
into the sea, and providentially escaped a watery 
grave at the moment when deliverance was at hand. 
His companions crawled out farther on the rocks, 
and by the great exertions of the crew were taken 
into the boat, and soon found themselves on board 
the Surrey, commanded by Captain Raine, by whom 
they were treated in the kindest manner, and their 
health and strength were speedily restored." 

Mr. Montgomery, the editor, observes, " there is 
some incongruity in these two narratives, which 
more minute particulars might reconcile." We have 
noticed them. Mr. Bennet received the account ver- 
bally, and may be mistaken in some points, but there 
is little doubt of its being substantially correct. _ 

This melancholy history supplies an additional 
and complete answer to Bligh's doubts of men feed* 
ing on each other to preserve existence. 

THE END. * 



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